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FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT 


OF THE 





BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY 


TO THE 


SECRETARY OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 


1883-'84 


BY 


TOW, 6 EO WE? 135 


DIRECTOR 





WASHINGTON 
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 
1887 





esc B77 





ror, Ry ‘ 
Sus IOWA 


CONTENTS 


REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR. 


Page. 

Metierontransmoltbale<<isscesiseee sina ieeie nes sess selene see ese eaesecces teen en Xv 
AMEEGUE CHO Dy Aciays xin aoe sos em sissies sis. say a2 cise eeicee oe aesear cee aceecee@ase Xvii 
Pnblications <222-5c.32s2s5055-5-5 e554 sodas sear osoessaso.cesdedoosesecaingas Xvill 
IDNELGE Re eae Be Beate aa ie GRACE Maio See Iic oct a ee eet i RD A xix 
MonNGexPlOvAwONG sce) 4 s=-pee ame cae O cs ae mate cee ele Beeasee cece see xX 
WiorksOneb roy OG Vrs; DUOMass semep ssse= sea woe cee sacks -se Seb ko Xx 
Explorations in the Southwest...---.-.--.--.----- Sodaccececoce obeseseS- Xxiii 
Workiot Mr, JamesiStevenson: .-.s2.-2-.9-25-e2525. «ces sence cheeses. xxiii 
Wont Wn vc LOneMEn Leletiv). saya oe = castes Sanacoeoeteelnes sence XXxiv 

AAETON SRDS SEAT) Sea SS OOS Sao SEs | OBES COO Ce ee, ee eae XXV 
Workof Mr PAH. Cushing ....522.----+--2-<2- ee So F ASS Sandee XXV 
ILS AS ATO) Cae ee belte 56 SEER Aneto pe cs SESE CBI Se esse XXix 
YAVSSTS Eee y BN ME DI Ni STi 0 0 Teg me eS XXix 

WO ciao im Wi aad eV RELOU AT a wove mc ebwnoe aemisercesaic 22). eens eee bee 
Wiorkof Dr. Washington Matthews, US) Ai sco... so--42 tos eae coe RENN 
WieticoteMre eremiihy Gambia ents ctepace coma nace = eect ace. o- eR 
WionkGis ne Wirtde LOM ant onis,e eee caie'st ose clone cece ease ese ae Xxxi 

OT COMWON Kee ere ene nie eee sai ae BOS SSC COR ARE ie cee TetES cova mene XXXL 
Work onCols GanrickiMallery. < .ajseses «oracsectcs snes coon ease ecesee ss KEK 
Wionksols: Mirai. Alo minl Whe See oy aeeeihn ec pe tacte cs a=cc bac ee cases cesses ew RERU 

NV OrRole RO Vand 5 Ole MOTSO Vertue: sa aeke eta oem Sania = ob ee eeeaasee ans SKI 
Wrorlciof Mr A: S. Gatscheb.:. 2. 2.)-2- 5 coses ee isd cones cena ene ae XXXii 
Wronkions Mine vi wGUShIN Pei soles de Sas net aegisss sosehedcs-aseescecs XXxii 


WiorkvotpMin Ji C.bMIN Pie sama eetos soca s seek cad peccah ees essences wcoss KEV 
WieT iso lyin Ci Com hONCOrsij.- sensei nse ence San oe ee ceeeeecnec see eer XXKE 
GTO LIME WrsblspELOMNES cote el a secs) eins o hedonic sec cece see aces eee X REY: 
Work of Messrs. Victor ani] Cosmios Mindeleff....-..........-.-...---.-.-. XXXVi 


WOE GhobrO GMCS OMAGH 2 we-inicce clone sce conse cece scaee sonewesene XR KWLL 

Works ob Ure Cw Varr OWecosctvcvine s)e2esiee se eck < cnceee peeces oo nce eee KEKVAL 

NVOEkgote Mra ere wn) OUTbMy eens sete oo oee ao aeeic = Seas anaes 2. 2 Se KEVAL 

RO COMMA VIN Oa OLS = miler tariae ns ee itaclos @ apart eleisla mise ela foams Reo nas ee XXXVil 
Burial mounds of the northern sections of the United States, by Prof. Cyrus 

ARMOIRES os Sse cee OSCE LOGO E CCC enCRo BBEHes Co ONES EEC CSEe aeeSeaeeSe XXXVili 

The Cherokee Nation of Indians, by Charles C. Royce ..........---..----- xlii 
The Mountain Chant: a Navajo Ceremony, by Dr. Washington Matthews, 

WhiSh dle ceetiecestodcdda ten senhe Sosa rene te Cab eSs Seen SEbicoao Bebb enee xliv 

The Seminole Indians of Florida, by Clay MacCauley..-..............22. xviii 

The Religious Life of the Zuni Child, by Mrs. Tilly E. Stevenson. .... 2... ] 

Expenditures -..... Stee) Sooner econ SAIC ORO Ser S25 COB OME noses sae lik 


Iv CONTENTS. 


ACCOMPANYING PAPERS. 


BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES, BY 
PROF. CYRUS THOMAS. 





Page. 
Introductory .----. .----- -- 206 --- eee enn ne cee ene eens aia\o o.die tole blatalate sae See 9 
Burial mounds of the Wisconsin district .........-.-.-----------+--------.---- 14 
Burial mounds of the Illinois or Upper Mississippi district .-.-------------.--- 24 
Burial mounds of the Ohio district ....-...---.-.------------------+---------- 45 
Burial mounds of the Appalachian district ..---...----------.------ sipasyastes 61 
The Cherokees probably mound-builders....-----.--.------------------------ 7 
Concluding remarks .-.---.-------------------++-++---: thas Jogeeeeeoeace eee 108 
Supplemental note......------ ------ +--+ +--+ 2+ eee e ee tee eee eee eee neers entree 110 
Burial ceremonies of the Hurons......-.-..---------- «----- ------ -------- 110 
The solemn feast of the’dead! ---- -- 22.5 << oa we wn wine elute) #lal=lelm efele memati 112 
THE CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS, BY CHARLES C. ROYCE. 
Tntroductory -.s< -- .-0-222-22220-+ ence <2 eo ena eeiee nines = siomiansinleism nian a 129 
Cessions of land — Colonial period 2-2 -cc.cse= ene eminem ei ae 130 
Gessions of land— Federal periods 22-2 ae seeeesteee ena areeee eee 
Treaty of November 28, 1785. -.-.---- .--.-----------+---+++----- ofan soDeas0n 133 
Material provisions -...---------- +--+ --2+ +2222 e202 eee eee eee eee eee 133 
Historical data -2<- << 2-22 << scjas-csaiatclas item lara teeta tele al= hapten et 134 
De Soto’s expedition 134 
Farly traditions ...--...- Beaecoo disomaos bo Se 136 
Early contact with Virginia colonists..-..-....---.------------------ 133 
Early relations with Carolina colonists ....-...-.-------+------------ 138 


Mention by various early authors ............---..-.-- -------------- 139 
Territory of Cherokees at period of English settlement .--..---.-.---- 140 


Population .... .----. ++. ------ eee eee ee eee ee eee cee ee cee eee eee 142 

Old Cherokee towns! 75221 amen = ois cekera tate ole alata atte lee ot 142 
Expulsion of Shawnees by Cherokees and Chickasaws.----. eeaene 144 

Treaty relation with the colonies ...-...----------------------------- 144 

Treaty relations with the United States.----.....---..--------------- 152 
Proceedings at treaty of Hopewell. ......---..---.----.-------------- 153 

Treaty of July 2, 1791 -..---- ------ --- 240 22-222 ee ne ene ee eee eee eee ween 158 
Material provisions -.-..--- .---<-<---0 =< -00 2000 oe ewe noe enn wens == ones 158 
Tistorical data------2- ---250 .-ssc- ecnnce © oer aw on Seo ene oa ee 160 
Causes of dissatisfaction with the boundary of 1785 ..-.-.-.--------.-- 160 
Tennessee Company’s purchase ...-..--...----------------------- poco us 
Difficulties in negotiating new treaty ..---.----.--------------------- 162 

Survey of new boundaries. ............---.------+----- ---=<------=-- 163 

Treaty of February 17, 1792 .-..-----.--.---------52 +22 2-2 2-022 cee cere sees 169 
Material provisions -.-.-----. 222. 2-26 oe eee ene enone oan = === a= 169 
Elistoriceall) lative ater oo ceca ra aie re ate eee ee eee ee ate a meee les 169 
Discontent of the Cherokees. ---. ..-2-. 2200s .20-5 0 een -- n= -= = enn e 169 

War with Cherokees) ose e.ec sae. tae eee eee ete edt aie 170 

Treaty of June 26, 1794.... ... 2-6. --- =. 22 - enn wenn wee wen wane meee anon 171 
Material provisions. -....------ weld aafsine apaterseleieisiay Salata a oletaate telecaster eye eliza 
Mistoricaldata:. -ce0---<s2cec = once cee came a ela ee eee 171 
Complaints concerning boundaries .-.-....---.---------+------ eee 171 


Cherokee hoatilities:..... s2s<.c.ccccc. ccce oe ca otloea in aoe eee ae ee te! 
Intercourse act Of 1796s.~ occ. occ eciee = sonetee velereeoeeee Sateen 173 


CONTENTS. 


Treaty of October 2, 1798........--.- AS SAGE BORE CGE SOPRA RE: JES OOO EER ES 
Material provisions -- .---- a spo sto ttaces oqost tes Soodeses coede Se aesB Ho 

PUIN LOS AL OR e ee heen viens ae Pein wen miei Bo mene (select ain sss ce ~ss- 
IRD ULEN MESMCOUMP LOLOL: con c\cw cca. omer cso me tame Se nn aSieccc es 

EET GE ORO RE LSE, Seis Ses oem Sector soetsdeS de GSES Ee eS ae eee eee es 
Material provisions ......---..--- Se ae oe Ee ee etal a Aer sees 
TORE CO Passe Ae sates so dae Sie ae eee S30 Seo esas Sade aS eee aee 
New treaty authorized by Congress.-.............-----.-.--.---..-.- 
WaiitOrd a SB nULO MOM === cece eee eee make = Gemwne oan nate 2a5ae8 455607 
Further negotiations authorized. ..---..-.. ---. --22-. 22 2-25 -2s0eeccee 

Treaty of October 25, 1805°.....----. dS tite dissec obs onsen eae Seaione Sag SseseS 
WEIN EROS once Gaal EOC COO SSOCHS OCI oS eAnS Besar aesss= See beanie 

An mp OTM Ta 7H Dbl bie se one cod Sao s aor Cncio Ido | pSane a peas oases 
ESPON AUTON ISI ONS Seteenetge atte seen ate = aa a eeie ene re eee ete ee 
Historical data respecting this treaty and the preceding ONG". sssn <oaace 
Continued negotiations authorized ...-....--...----...---.-----.---.. 
Jontroversy concerning Doublehead.tract -....-....-.-.....---...---- 

Treaty of January 7, 1806........---- SoU SiS a2 oes Ce HSROAR Sea sees Secoodenee 
Material aiieton ge sohbase reece ussScsse ste yecsoos Saree 26 cba so-es50 
Jinairtareton Stayriney co) nie WH UU ee Sa ee cree oe ao sees Seo See eases SEeees 


MR Ow WaT exacts ossess Seso 2065 soe pode Soe Seep spececias sesseseouay 
InIsiryre GG UE eSaceanooeocbas cede: JooSe5 Jo Sg soak ace es Base Soasoeene 
Controversy concerning bon fees BSR CO Ceo Oe oe See 
Hxplanatory treaty negotiated -= .----. 1. a... en ae ow wane one 

Treaty of March 22, 1816, ceding land in South Carolina ..............-.---.-- 
DE GIC OI DRM TON ie 55 cscs pScoss SSS seo 9S65 oo See sees ee See eee ae 
Treaty of March 22, 1816, defining eat Woundavies; é&c).. 220-25. .ccees-8 
WUD {EAST B c con Bon6 geo Siesses Jodie senias 8 SeeeGeogsceecicoar se 
LETC TD AEN 65. ian Oas seaeign aes a oec canner osiceoe foe See ae eine 
Colonel Earle’s negotiations for the purchase of iron-ore ane Bes eee 
Tennessee fails to conclude a treaty with the Cherokees.............. 


Removal of Cherokees to the west of the Mississippi proposed...--.--- 

Efforts of South Carolina to extinguish Cherokee title.....-...-..---. 
Boundary between Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws, and Chickasaws.... 
Roads through the Cherokee country .----.--...--...-------.-.--..-- 
TIER A OU sagen iio LE i) Seco o 5 See Sasa Seer eo ne cee seco cence aos caer 
ISLAMI OLONISLODS 22 =f sce ae ese aac ares tame = oe a le sine ae some eee 
DNs )prmm etl Gai occas ose cad aseeet Jose cag adscn ond s ev ee. Be = soles Ss sac eae ec 
Further purchase of Cherokee lands sp So pS SOone ae eecs cece See Sse 
UAH gal iag ich ISI) 6. Sn ores coneteecen sh access Saoease ons cee> 2 Sceroceoose 
Wipe) (ER ARIOTE Mere Sceo Sho. cnossciosde S62 66s odebo ceca ae wea goeeeon 

TS OGD GES ne ot odeeaes sed estecsce Base sepas esa SeSpseees dae seeeeet 
Policy of removing Indian tribes to the west of the Mississippi River-. 
Further cession of territory by the Cherokees...... ..-....----...---.. 

SErbaty) OteHOULUREY oi) LOL lene me elects cmclem mien erie erin vena = =iale 
Matar lipo VvisONe == nese eco ee~ seen ao~. emimel ca ame =yon= = See Se eee Seo 
eG sa Sooo scent e Sen See Senos He OSU DOES nate Bea eo pene cesECeee 
Cherokees west of the Mississippi—their wants and condition ---. ---- 
Disputes among Cherokees concerning emigration...-...----.----.--- 
Public sentiment in Tennessee and Georgia couceruing Cherokee re- 
HIOMP sso Seon. StS 0eb > C60 JOD ESS HOSE Shr On enoe Secec oes SS=eE Deemed 
Treaty concluded for turther cession of land .........----..---------- 
Riana OmcencalgnG HOLOK EGS See ere ae aeieemtaice tele Sam elena aie nates wae = 


Wali CONTENTS. 





Page. 

Treaty of May 6, 1828 ... 2.1 cc ccs wee mcs coe ance vem ece ence seseenn seams sens 229 
WET EN Mido at Opa eee es oa50 Gan oam Goon coos coSooS sono cesocrseageaDess 229 

lee once WWW te SOME ese re ern Gana SopcSonynonacccM made omanba oosctoco8 231 
Return J. Meigs and the Cherokees.-..-.-.- 2.2... 8 on enna 231 


Tennessee denies validity of Cherokee reservations.#..-..-.-....-.---- 232 
United States agrees to extinguish Indian title in Creasy BAPneosecs, Mie 


Cherokee progress in civilization... -..-- Pegneceoncsawsasasacces  » Zio 

Failure of negotiations for fur Ghere cession wal aod GHDSLD Dae Dasaaconor 241 

Cherokee Nation adopts a constitution ......-.... 2... sss. seene5 ese 241 

Cherokee affairs west of the Mississippi..---...--...-----------.----- 242 

Dreaty of February 14,1633 oe oe aie pie nial elaine) elaine oe eee 249 

Material: provisions) .~ 222 2. oon = ae oe ee eee eee ee eee 249 

PMistorical data). <<2 5 2 oa. enews eee eee =n Sone eee eee eee 251 
Conflicting land claims of Creeks and Cherokees west of the Missis- 

(0) Mliseemac SoomecbaSsee Seo Soar aslessssscogeas Sossad Hens somo canecone 251 
Purchase of Osage half-breed neservese == ==s-eee eee esa ee ee eeeeee 252 
President Jackson refuses to approve the treaty of 1834............... 252 

Treaty of December'29; 1835. ...< <.-jcis-.1=2:s ces ee eee eR eee Cee eee ee Eee 253 
Mafieriall provisions °. << <-.-/¢~ ~<<0)e- >= etme er eee eee ee ee 253 
Treaty of March 1, 1836 (articles supplementary to treaty of December 29, 1835). — 257 
Material provisi0ns) cs. — sso oee see eee eee Ee eae a IG ee 8 257 
FAISCOLIC AL Catal s cscs cas eae ere hte eles ete= et 258 
Zealous measures for removal of Eastern Cherokees ..-....----...---- 258 
General Carroll’s report on the condition of the Cherokees.-.......--. 259 
Failureof Colonel Lowxry’s mission(=s-4--2seeeeee eee eee eee 262 
Decision of Supreme Court in Cherokee Nation v. Georgia ..-...-...-. 262 
Hartline of Mr. Chester's/misslon\ s.r. sae alerts eee eee eee 262 
Decision of Supreme Court in Worcester v. Georgia..-.....---.-.----- 264 
Disputed boundaries between Cherokees and Creeks ...--...-----.--- 266 
Cherokees plead with Congress and the President for justice -.....-.. 272 
Cherokees propose:an adjustment 2-2-2 --.eeeeee ese eee eee 274 
Cherokees memorialize Congress. 5... 5) se ees oseeee Soper 275 
Treaty negotiations resumed! {5255-539 eee eee 278 
Report:of Major Davis... ; . 2s. 2 eas oo oc6 cece seen eee eee eee Ee 284 
Elias Boudinot'siwiews s.s.2:5os25-sjeeelsce + os -nceaeee eee eee eee eee eee 
Speech of General R. G. Dunlap as,die'= eieie'sio'e ne Sele ae eee eee 285 
Report of General! John: \Wioolls5--2..-2- =e eee ee eee eee ene 285 
Report of John: Mason; jr... -.c5- --<0c---..eees ass 2 ae EEE Eee 286 
Henry Clay’s sympathy with the Cherokees .........--...----.----.-- 2387 
Policy of the President eriticised —speech of Col. David Crockett_.... 288 
General Scott ordered to command troops in Cherokee country -...--. 291 
John Rossiproposesia new treatys 222. ss eee sae ee ee eee eee 291 
Cherokees permitted to remove themselves .......---.----.---..----- 292 
Dissensions among Cherokees in their new home -..-.....----...-.---- 292 
Cherokees charge the United States with bad faith. .................. 296 
Per capita payments under treaty of 1835 -J----ceses- esses esos eee 297 
Political murders in} Cherokee Nation= -- s-2-ee ase ee eee eae eee 297 
Adjudication commissioners appointed .........--..------------------ 298 
Treaty-of August 6,1846) <0. <0 scosenec saseeeaaetes cose eee ee eee 2983 
Material provisions 2.20 5)2-<0<2cyss5 s05-5c 0s cero Soe ee re eee Eee 298 
Historical data... 2is..20c 2 152 cows ia -semttesste soe Sec eae eae eee eee 300 
Cherokees desireta new treaty... 04. --e sc eee cee eee eee eee eee eee 300 
Feuds between the Ross, Treaty, and Old Settler parties ......-...-.. 301 
Death of Sequoyah, or/George Guess! =. on. -s ose -eecieeee heen eee 302 


CONTENTS. VII 


Treaty of August 6, 1846—Continued eee 
Historical data— Continued. 

Old Settler and Treaty parties propose to remove to Mexico ..--...--. 302 

Nilo MeR eee E reheat Gnas See eee ees oe Seuecr Seamnce cE RCen Cea eneee 303 
Negotiation oftreaty of 1846 ---.. oe ee nee een eeen~- S04 
Affairs of the North Carolina Cherokees ...... .---...-.--.-----.----- 313 
Proposed removal of the Catawba Indians to the Cherokee country --- 317 
Financial difficulties of the Cherokees .........--..--..-------------- 318 
Munderion the sdairaand others. --- .2ccs esas sne- onesie esses <- 319 
Financial distresses—new treaty proposed... ..---..--- eee =e 320 
Slavery in the Cherokee Nation.....-.......-.. ---- s---00---------=-- 321 
Removal of white settlers on Cherokee land ...... -....--.----.----- 322 
Fort Gibson abandoned by the United States......-....-..----------- 322 
Removal of trespassers on ‘‘ neutral land” ..-...-...-.--------------- 323 

John Ross opposes survey and allotment of Cherokee domain -.-.----- 324 
Teal Sepa teertepay rt USO) ee Os Oe oe ie oe es JAR ee SoS Sere 324 
Cherokees and the Sonthern Confederacy ...-...-----.------------+-- 326 
Cherokee troops for the Confederate army - Clee Siete toed 

A Cherokee Confederate regiment deserts i the U niled Sates. SeeeSGeA 323 
Ravages of war in the Cherokee Nation......--.-.------------------- 332 
MrentysgotinlyelO 1 S0Gise 22 s2- earn asec oss as ajoese- = = AB oa 334 
RE EOLIC ILO MISIODS fe ae sree see fe ae aale eels. ai ele lee cee ie hace = = 334 
TE ay 2 Ned TTS Ee ea Oe ace cas SoCo Saco ae ona-Ssee a pracsreone Sobbce 340 
Weatetial ikowiGlOonS! sae sn ee sees ea ene sq ae ee am emma eins) | OaO 
TI Mrrt PV Sheeecodeocep Sener omens OSE Oe SOE SO OFS See yaaa oaIeer 341 

United States desire to remove Indians from Ki vusas to Tudian Ter- 

DOU Bee ete ee eee Bg eas Re ao a eae 341 

Council of southern tribes at iene engeant EPA SuSsen eee See eee 341 
General conneua Bore lois m see are ore fae os eae clare aim ees oe lee 341 
@onterencoejah Washine ton, DiC. -- occa ccn cae <a 2-2 ho ===> oon 345 


Cession and sale of Cherokee strip and neutral lands ..-...--..--.---- 348 
Appraisal of confiscated A ake hae race Suewarssecossonsceceace= Soll 


New treaty concluded but never ratified - Set eecsasteessenccs.s | ODI 
Boundaries of the Cherokee domain --..-.---.------ eee aces fica Toot: 
Delawares, Munsees, and Shawnees join the eneecces EA a Oe 
Friendly tribes to be located on Cherokee lands west of 96°. Scene enon 358 


East and north boundaries of Cherokee country ....-.---.------------ 365 
Railroads through Indian Territory ..---.....-.---------------------- 366 
Removal of intruders— Cherokee citizenship....-.---.-.------------- 367 
(Choate eee se). 2B cae ce pace ne Gone GEE eee OES CO GS0S Be He eeR ee eee sore matte! 


THE MOUNTAIN CHANT: A NAVAJO CEREMONY, BY DR. WASHINGTON MATTHEWS, 


Ua Sears 
PneuthacblONe see ee ee sea ee se eae ae oie are weit ae eel a eee een = mon Bisse 
Myth of the origin of dsilyidje qagal ..----..---.-----.--------------------+-- 387 
Ceremonies of dsilyidje qagal......---.-- ---- ---- ------ --25 eee nee eo eee eee ee 418 
IPSS SMP GEN Sizoce ae BS ceca Loe aeeeas Bae eenOe eo cenntano teaceteeaaracees | (Ks! 
Fifth day .....-- ee ee eee ean nee amin micetore we Bese renee ater 419 
SPoa IMGT ieee Se ceRESs GE GaoS TIESOCE DORES Be OTR CEOS eee EO Reno Sem ae met 424 
SLATES) a SS oe Shae San eo Sao Se gee SECM Aa oe = eee Ei Oo 423 
TOP TLR i 6 Se eee iene s Doan Soe Bee ROO SSet sae SEIS Se OOS eee ane St 429 


Maathdays(amil sunset) ieee a aeaeens enna ce eae enone ameee sss een, ASO) 
Topi TSI. 32 22S J oe peste come aR aeRO een aas Sec OOS esconES caer saa ceeermme. 2! 
First dance (nahikai) ...........----. A Ahad SR Ape EL COE 432 
Second dance (great plumed arrows)..---..----.-----+++---+--------- 433 


Vill CONTENTS. 





Page. 

Ceremonies of dsilyidje qagal—Continued. 

Last night—Continued. 

Third dance... - 2-22-25 se -e nnn njsiaa nine c/a/aieia\e\o\a\n|je{aja{e/a(eiela)=)=i=ietn/atelalet 435 
Hourth dance .-.cecss soe vale sce sa etewie ale male le leew alm d alee lmlalael = re 436 
Fifth dance (sun) .----..-.--- SpebaNcoeeus caoagesspEcas'gbecne Bode co4 437 
Sixth dance (standing arcs) -...-..----2---2--- (=== 9 2 2-2 one ewes wens 437 
Seventh dance: 2. <= fe seas bance = cleielileeee eee ae ete eee ert eee a 438 
Highth dance (rising sun) -.----..-----.----------- ----++ -2--2+------ 438 
Ninth dance (Hoshkawn or Yucca baccata)..----.------.------------- 439 
Menthidance (bear)! os. 22 ee = ete a aaa a ee meet 441 
Bleventhidance (fine). a5 oie eae tsal= alae el te 441 
Other! dances: -ss-:5 22 eee oe cae wlalele enh ete e eteeeeterea 443 
The great pictures of dsilyidje qagal.. ..--------------------+------ ----2-=00- 444 
First picture (home of the serpents)- <=. --. . <2 <2 22 <2 noes oe ae == 446 
Second picture (yays and cultivated plants).-......-.-.-..--------------- 447 
Mhird preture (Loris bodies) a a ape a ee ee eee lee ltt 450 
Fourth picture (great plumed arrows).- .-----.----------------.---------- 451 
The sacrifices of dsilyidje qagal’..- ~~... 5. 22 oe saws mee aie 451 
Original texts and translations of songs. $065 6555 os54 ees sarossscge 455 
Songs) Of Sequence: o- = - == see =a= eee eee Fee ee a ee ae ee es 455. 
Hirst Songiof theiHins iD an Cers Sareea see =e eat 


First Song of the Mountain Shean Seo co Noob ab adews accaconeasedont) ZY 
Sixth Song of the Mountain Sheep=s-ees-22eee ee sesso eee eee ee eee Od 
Twelfth Song of the Mountain’ Sheep --22)2. 22 2222 -ons 2 eee wee ene 458 
First|Sone of the Mhunderssoso see ee eee et ae eee 
Twelfth Songiof the Thunder. see eae eae ea era 
First, Song: of the Holy Youno) Men ee see eine eee eee ee) 


Sixth Song of the Holy Young Men.. Be NE esate tine ea RRS eo her ne OO) 
Twelfth Song of the Holy Young room aiajmain tea Saeiel ae Se ae cin con Oe se ae OU 
Eighth Song of the Young Women Who Become eae Wie ccicite a= eee A451 
One of the Awl Songs... --.-.- Pees eee Sea so sccmoncros. . clell 


First Song of the ieplodine! Stick . EEE AES Coase aSora to ce ) «lod 
Wast Sone of the) Psxplodin Gas ticle cps eae ote = term rere 


Jays PID aavoll gist) tYWeeew a= Re So Sn ec no SSoeRo Soonoscotneonsoase ceases 463 
Tash ayo Son pisses ae eae ee tea ae ae a tee ee 463 
Other'Songs:and extracts ese acces ate clei = alate ate tele eee te ete tee 464 
Song of the Prophet to the San Juan River. .....---- ste coctes Sees 464 
Song of the Building of the Dark Circle...-.....-..-.---..----..---- - 464 
Prayer’ to Dsilyis Ney anise a aters ansei cette = late etal she feelers 465 
Sone of the Rising: Sun Dance esse seca set netomat cee area ieee 465 
Instructions civen toithe akaninilic so. — see. 2s -ehe sees ee OD: 
Prayer‘of thesprophet'to) bis masks. = occ ontsislelal=ieis= slate eee 466 
Biast Wordsiof the Prophet eee cjtecteretarer catalase lata te ele te oleate alee eee 467 


THE SEMINOLE INDIANS OF FLORIDA, BY CLAY MACCAULEY. 


Letter of transmittals: -25.22ssec cece es eae soeleeia= ale sete aie tetera 475 
Introduction): «.scccecars == 2 52 220s ee oe ele St oieenine Seco eee eet eee M7 
Ti: 

Personal characteristi¢s’s...2ccec cee arses ci teeaeis eieieoe ee telat eats aieretetene ater 481 
Physical characteristics casa. ee eee ieee ete ates te eetelete teeter 481 

Physique of thetmen 2 2s = ones tetera anette eae 481 


Physique of ithe Women) os <e.. oc)este eyelet == rlle alele tel ne feel 482. 


CONTENTS, Ix 


Z Page 

Personal characteristics — Continued. 
(SlOUnIn elena eee cae anets= = eacnra pete ami eials 2 escttp(ece ate tite memcEstacacees tows 482 
TOSETMNS COL NO MEN cose sores ss cnccacee Se SRS OO DOOD: BOISE ARS 4R3 
TE GHUNMTOOiMOROUREN eters omic cn is cleeeicnie a oisle jae same aan mes lass heen 485 
PErsOnalekOOLNMe ices aoa clase csasccclecstcc eesices supcucce a lcsecoweclnece 486 
PSI ERC OCG Serene Senet on, Siem aeds See eheencineiee ia ee ciles a aacicn ae 486 
SNinamennainou OMCOonin Gy. oaariosn= feet sales a ese Siac cies svscca 487 
LUE) UREN oc 6c Sas aU eos Bas ee a neeas So dae oR SEOSe HOSS DISS ee: (Ys 
MULVOGISB = c= nce -> 6 cee 5 SECIS AREA SDaSOC RB eee eae CaO Ea anee 488 
IOBYS INDI ootqoo i aaesoo Se ae ACS DSO BCES Saas ne BABB AN BOR oSane CoE OOsenee 488 
LTE RC) See O AR ARR AG ana RSet Se EOS Se cee Eso 2 5, aan) eee 489 
Siliwerivs) GOld ce esa see a cle = sarees e icisln clcian alae ists we ecu cobg aneeiesas 489 
CVONCONtA WHIShlebay nme. (DOs so) o.ceow eae oaco awe een enc s,auen 489 
MG leita ete eles miatele ane Stee ala anaes nines eeoees akice yee cecitias Ameen 489 
SVG MIC se HATAOLELIS ICS meee cereal eran wee ante ieee raven ayia oe ae 490 
IRO-HE Hanae LOOne beets cae eats = mies anatase aa, see mee eee ek sem ites a Ae 
Intellect wallability.-22c.- sso. sen escee ee eet, ease. be secs maoaseiceeece 493 

il. 
ETN GENO CIGD paren enemas tee a(elere ceinsiamicies metro e mines case token cee Seas ose e 495 
Piet Sermano lea mye papas bas anereee eee sam is ss acts ewise c wecve cme secs 495 
SHIR E5255 acucpeGeue dacs are abed (SE CBESOES BASSE RUS Senasor meee 496 
IV GOREN Ge coca). om. bo 3e DOE BnS BaSeIaaeo EA cD SEE SaO DEED DON SODRN Sea eSOe 496 
IV OLCO mee eP et chy: eon eee cemayaninte ea oi oe) ciere cece aavciee cee 496 
CG Pintle steele ieee ere noma s/c oa einate Se «sla sye nosis cee aenrese yee ae 497 
JAR EST OSES, Sabe BE OS QeBE OU SE ae CORBIS BB UTE Pan Oc pas BBC Er esce Heese 497 
REGO eee ee ana cis celine ete are tgs Sas ots see blslseee Seem = 498 
Seminole dwellings—TI-ful-lo-ha-tco’s house ...........-2. ---. 22-2 ---++--- 499 
Tn MM oa Se SR SSNS sa COG DIO C ETI DEON DOTEE COse MBSR ESSA aoe eS oAEe 503 
Gil ads Eeoae SRepes ) SeeOUCe COC DOOBEOS SepOn OEMS bICS ress Baser a coaaeoss 504 
Campin een en ceriaaa atime ra oleae =o oeia gala ate elclzatine sino ciaaia cca watee ee 505 
INES URC ORE RINT = sa na asind Goonas no SEeU os Sec6 SEEO Tene ape eno osods 505 
JNM RENSRS) ono Scomenn cred ose ceoboSereScneas dae cadeode coresaouSSeee 506 
SRM eI Sen Ole r PONS peeetesetecain | ea eam iri netfee ee Ce arise etse 507 
HEMLONBOUOO penta sate ie eee cnn e ee stn wssaseeaoneuse cseniaee cece 608 
MBG SWUNG OIE Ofae ae es ae en oe) ae oe So lociine, amen oe e Soest wale meets 508 
INDO) OR RV ON, Soe coos son ae cookers be 5S50 cu Sbeooses Seeeeuaeee 508 
SEE OY (ON CONVTGIN GS eos pe eain sacs sodS CROd aetna tes BEB EESeeocsmreaee. “Eillles 
Tribal officers. ........ eee epee alate areata ee ete cee che felaiasavelnitein a! mercies 509 
NAME OF LIDG ==. syoene's os) oss - snes eae ce ces Cae ae Beancaaee core 509 
Ill. 

POUMMMOL Rin D ALO eee eee aa olen tea esi cimclie smal ee mons onmsioe Sea =m 510 
EQNS «5 cone sO SAE SUNS SAOC Se ACER = Bem ie AEE BSNS Se ee AaB ee an mk!) 


RAEI CU WIEN Geet nettles siaae aban le itnte ete einfeean anion senieise sioner aefam “O10 
SGM Cope cacongoncdadse nhdcen Se inos SEDO ne ecCdea se Senemceoepenas = aIKt 
(CHW -as055 seated paces dae sono cosh noeres aa HoS ee dons cee eseoeeccs 510 
SIE SAG. SA Sateen orcedes nee a Bae ee Ade SEES EC eS ARCS SSR ee emm as Ht 

Lag MN 62 ee ats So eeemmct RECEc Sericis’ Cane BORA Bech aU pMecoE BROCE ine ti) i) 


UNS Eg ete ei a miele eet as to nia) o nie a a alewielcleeie re nfm mink se) a 513 
SHOW AEM SIIY es aoa ono cie SOS ON Oe DEO. LU COOH Eb ned Ese Baa CCa sen ae 513 
BOON ee secats = sae eco enreceio ns coeis asc sacceccocsieste eo eeseisceesscsss 513 
aA Nt StaISUICS@ ee aoe esiee enc acc ec ossicles esc ciclsccceeesw-seieeicncece 516 





CONTENTS. 


Seminole tribal life — Continued. 


Industrial arts 
Utensils and implements -.....-.---.--- S 
Weapons ....------------ ----++-+++-++-+---- teeeee eee cee eee eeee 
Weaving and basket making --..---...-.-.-.---------..----= eee 
Uses of the palmetto ..........-------...-- Sen Geass ecse aso. ; 
Mortar and pestle 
(ephites E Db pepe eeceseebeD Seno Ss5oS0 cco Poppe Somapo asso cssa 


Preparation of skins --..-.-..----.-- dacada cade ee 
Ornamental arts:....52- 5-2-2 scene oo tee ean ce eee eee eee eee eee ee 


Mortuary customs..-..........--.. SBGU Paco cOnoTs Hood osaocaoneScUse = 
Green Corn Dance 
General observations 
Standard of value 
Divisions of time 
INumeration.-.. <---s6cseeeceee == eeoeee HeeoLcoCseS comE ay cooses eee 
Senseof color... - J. <s2lsasc-- eceseesaac ie 
HGNC RtlON ssa. ee eee eeee eee Shoe ce cis oo eee ae eee eee eee 
Slavery..-..- SSS nee ae EOS Sen Seance pee Sasa BSc acd Smta to cese nae’ 
Health-=2 5c... i eww blo onptepeie v's. sisi wien aie eeiap toe eee tees Sosecleno 


Environment of the Seminole 


THE RELIGIOUS LIFE OF THE ZUNI CHILD, BY MRS. TILLY E. STEVENSON. 
‘ 


Brief account of Zuni mythology 
IBATLAY CUSLO MS seem ele ee ee acsSouonsocs4 ReeassS OnpES ode sso =o6rue 
Involuntary initiation into the Kok-k6 ....... Biceeiei noe Sate al Re 
Voluntary initiation into the MOk=- 10-3 2). eieterioc se eel ee selene se eee 


Page. 
516 
516 
516 
516, 
517 
517 
517 
517 
518 
518 
518 
519 | 
519 
520 
522 
523 
523 
524 
525 
525 
526 
526 
626 





ILLUSTRATIONS 


Page. 
PLATE I. Group of earthworks, Allamakee Cuunty, lowa...--.----+.---- 26 
II. Enlarged figure and section of earthwork A, Pl. I. .-----.----- 30 
IIL. Group of mounds and vertical section of bluff, East Dubuque, 
UMNO 1S tea ea eee ate nee ance eels amie aia sires = =n 36 
TV. Amound. (From De Bry)..--..--.---...-.-.<-----.----.----.. 40 
V. Plat of ancient works, Kanawha County, West Virginia...... 54 
VI. Enlarged plan of part of the works shown in Plate V-.---.--- 58 
VII. Earliest map showing location of the Cherokees. 1597...----. 128 


VIIL Map of the former territorial limits of the Cherokee Nation of In- 
dians, exhibiting the boundaries of tho various cessions of land 

made by them to the colonies and to the United States. 1884. (*) 
TX. Map showing the territory originally assigned to the Cherokee 
Indians west of the Mississippi River; also the boundaries of the 


territory now occupied or owned by them. 1884..--...----. (®) 

X. Medicine lodge, viewed from the south.-..-...-..------------. 418 

XI. Medicine lodge, viewed from the east.----..----.------------ 420 

SXUAT TOY aay oP re eres 5Ses oe ee ee toa peanipeoe seep eecoaree oe bY 

’ ST. WG GL Gs goad ee aeata hao Sad eb ass pos couSeabsas essa soSSre 442 
XIV. The dark circle of branches at sunrise......---.--...--------- 444 

. BR VAM MICS Ley 2 DARD GIN Oem tn ean ete n es a nla eins iain elosam |< = 446 
AVP SeCOnGUUrY, PAIMGIN Gene.) == lcee er mane ccs Comm cols == mane = 448 
VE. UDnITdldsy Paiva -2 see ee sa oo ew nee we eee wor ees amen 450 
VILE HOUnhby Ory PaInuu a 7aos soces a: aaa lnc eae oma note woe = === 452 
MOX emmole dwelling. —-2.)..s0. cesses sor-- > emec==.= <0 See eee 500 

XX. Zon masksiand WKo-ye-me shi-...------- ---- ---- «<<+ +---+-=-=- 546 

XI. Group of Si-li mo-bi-ya masks. .......-.-...----.------~----- 548 
XXII. Zuni sand altar in Kiva of the North..----...-.-.------------ 550 
RENAME Ohehe-i-qnes Kivaiok theibaste:ce-s =) = -ce-=s2s=255 o-== <--- 552 
Fie. 1. Section of mound near Racine, Wisconsin. (After Lapham)--.--.----- 14 
2. Section of burial mound, Vernon County, Wisconsin. .-..-..----------- 15 
3. Earthen pot from Wisconsin burial mound...---..------------------- 16 
4. Section of burial mound, Crawford County, Wisconsin. .----.-------- u 
5. Section of burial mound, Crawford County, Wisconsin. .-.---.-------- 18 
6. Section of burial mound, Vernon County, Wisconsin.-.--------------- 20 
7. Section of burial mound, Davenport, Iowa. ..---..----------------- 4a 24 
8. Section of mound showing stone vault (Iowa) .----------------------- 31 
9. Plat of Indian burying-ground, Wapello County, Iowa--.----.-------- 33 
10. Section of mound 4, East Dubuque, Illinois .-...---------------------- 36 
11. Section of mound 16 (Plate III), showing vault..---.----------------- 37 
12. Plan of vault, mound 16 (Plate III)....-. ..-.------------ -------+---- 37 
13. Pipe from Illinois mound. (After Smithsonian Report, 1884). ---.---- 338 
14, Pipe from Illinois mound. (After Smithsonian Report, 1884). ....---- 33 
15. Pipe from Illinois mound. (After Smithsonian Report, NEY Ns CS Se ece 38 
16. Group of mounds and hut-rings, Brown County, Llinois--.- .--------- 40 








*Jn pocket at the end of volume. 


wo 


OU or on OT on Ol On 
SHEASRZE 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


. Forms of larger mounds of the group shown in Fig. 16 .....---------- 
. Groups of mounds, Clarke County, Missouri ..---. .--------+-+------ 

. Ohio burial mound. (After Squier and Davis) -.---.-..----- -------- 
. Wooden vault of Ohio mound. (After Squier and Davis) .----------- 
. Copper gorget from mound, Kanawha County, West Virginia --.----- 
. Pipe from mound, Kanawha County, West Virginia essere ae 
3. Pipe from mound, Butler County, Ohio ..---.---------------+-------- 
. Mound with so-called ‘‘ altar,” Kanawha County, West Virginia ---.- 
5. Appearance of T, F. Nelson mound after excavation...---.----------- 
. Burials in the T. F. Nelson triangle, Caldwell County, North Carolina. 
. Engraved shell gorget from mound, Caldwell County, North Carolina. 
. Cylindrical copper bead from mound, Caldwell County, North Carolina. 
. Bracelet of copper and shell beads from mound, Caldwell County, North 


Carolina).2222. <2 ecee = aces n-ne eee sae oe Oana eee eee 


. Iron celt from mound, Caldwell County, North Carolina..---...-.---- 
. Iron implement from mound, Caldwell County, North Carolina-.----- 
2. W. D. Jones mound, Caldwell County, North Carolina ---.-.-.----.---- 
. Plan of the R. T. Lenoir burial pit, Caldwell County, Nort’: Carolina- 
.. Fire-bed, Wilkes County, North Carolina.... ..---..----.----- ------ 
. Section of mound, Henderson County, North Carolina..-.-.---.-.----- 
. Section of mound, Henderson County, North Carolina-....----..----- 
. Mound on Holston River, Sullivan County, Tennessce ------.----.---- 
. Pipe from mound, Sullivan County, Tennessee --....----..----------- 
. Large mound of Etowah group, Bartow County, Georgia .---...------ 
. Vertical section, small mound, same group..---...----.-------------- 
, Plan of. burialsmismalljmound 22s... eee eens eee eee 
. Copper plate from Etowah mound, Georgia --...----..---- ---------- 
3. Copper plate from Etowah mound, Georgia .......----..---.-+------- 
. Copper badge from Etowah mound, Georgia ..----..----------. ------ 
5. Copper badge from Etowah mound, Georgia ....--..----- ------------ 
. Engraved shell from Etowah mound, Georgia...--. .----------------- 
. Engraved shell from Etowah mound, Georgia ..-.-.---.-------------- 
. Copper plate from Tlinoismound...--..---.--.---------------------- 
. Copper plate from Indian grave, Illinois....-..---.-----.---- ------- 
. Qastceél¢i, from a dry painting of the klédji-qagal -...-...----------- 
51. The gobolga, or plumed wands, as seen from the door of the medicine 


Ny te Ae Seno Hea eac occ peaa paconessennossoss cua saad cobs Leto 


2. Akdninili ready for the journey -..---..-...----. -------------------- 
. The reat: wood! pile 22.2. seca ssre ate tatae eat take ae eet neo 
. Dancer holding up the great plumed arrow -----.-------------------- 
. Dancer ‘‘swallowing” the great plumed arrow- .... ---.-------------- 
» The whizzers-.-a- -sscss eae ae ee rie ete ae = Ne ater teiee tre 
. Wuces baecceata.-ccqsi ace cers see see eee tate ale io alse lr 
| Sacrificialistieks: (kegAm))22 co cctec.stelacminiatarn oo elm) mlelem = lt eln/a sini a)=ie ea aie 
. The talking kethawn (kegan-yalgi‘) -.-...-----.----.-----------.---- 
30: Mapiof Bloridiay <= oso j2e sere are rae ae ei ee ata ate lal ela ale alee ollie 
. Seminole costume, men. ...- 2. <<. - 0-25 222 = eee a en 
» Key West Billy: << pe seroma ane pie ote mace ie ea ele ecto ie 
. Seminole costume, women.......----.------ .----------+-----: -*----- 
. Manner of wearing the hair ...--..----. .---------------------++---+-- 
5. Manner of piercing the car .....----- ..-----------2-+ -+- =- -+-=---5-- 
3. Baby cradle or hammock .-.-.-- .--.----.---.- ----2- -----2 s----------- 
. Temporary dwelling ...--..----.+--------------- 600 22-3 eons p= 
» Sugarcane crusher... <2 ese. come dow cle) ocln ie == a ea ele 


Page. 
41 
43 
46 
46 
52 
53 
53 
57 
62 


~~ 
ir 


aN 


es 








‘x = 

XIII 

Page. 

ia alias COBRA SENOS SO SoD SOP O CGS DOD CODON GOCE OUI SECODOS een atk} 

oot SOO HES GaSe 5 SOE ee eI ee ee eee 514 

SaSSSE EOC BIC SSE E ODES SEO DOECEE, COee RECS Bars 514 

SiycE Sh QoScnteele tee ee OOS SCENE See oe Se SaEeree 515 

jae 7B. ortar and pestle. 252 cosets Berg St a oLOee nee At ner eeeeeS geuitse=s/eeeee 517 

a by 74, Hide stretcher . SB eE COR Sacceeeee QSnes4 cosa nbhossdoosesessese segecocces 518 

rae . Seminole DIBT eee cece eccnieeme mete awe mays Swe woes ao isancece 520 

Ge Boetn nil aaa s SAS geen Sec ee oe NR ee 521 

icky (ORES FCAT DEO Cee eee oe A ee oe ae Oe et Rae ea 523 
a 








DELTER- OF TRANSMITTAL. 


Smrrusonian Institution, Bureau or Ersnoxoey, 
Washington, D. C., October 25, 1884. 

Sir: I have the honor to submit my Fifth Annual Report 
as Director of the Bureau of Ethnology. 

The first part consists of an explanation of the plan and 
operations of the Bureau; the second part consists of a series 
of papers on anthropologic subjects, prepared by my assistants 
to illustrate the methods and results of the work of the Bureau. 

I desire to express my thanks for your earnest support and 
your wise counsel relating to the work under my charge. 

I am, with respect, your obedient servant, 


oo 


Prof. Spencer F. Batrp, 


Secretary Smithsonian Institution. 
XV 





FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT 


OF THE 


BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY. 


By J. W. Powe tt, Director. 


INTRODUCTION. 


The prosecution of ethnologic research among the North 
American Indians, as directed by act of Congress, was con- 
tinued during the fiscal year 188384. 

The general plan before reported, upon which the work has 
been prosecuted, remains unchanged. Specialists are employed 
to pursue definite lines of investigation, the results of which 
are presented from time to time in the publications of the Bu- 
reau. A summary account of the particular work upon which 
each of the special students was engaged during the year is 
presented below. This, however, does not embrace all of the 
services rendered by them, as it has often been found neces- 
sary to suspend particular lines of research in order to unite 
the whole force for the speedy accomplishment of an impor- 
tant general undertaking. From this cause unavoidable de- 
lays have occurred in the publication of several treatises and 
monographs far advanced toward completion. In reference 
to monographs and other papers directly connected with lin- 
guistic and ethnic classification, a further cause of delay has 
arisen from the necessity of solving new problems as they have 
arisen in the continued study of the data collected. Thus 
renewed expeditions to the field have several times become 


3) ETH——II ee 


XVIII ANNUAL REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR 


necessary to verify or correct some particulars in treatises 
otherwise ready for the printer, and, indeed, in some cases, 
partly printed. 

Collaboration is constantly invited from competent explorers 
and writers who are not and do not desire to be officially con- 
nected with the Bureau. Some valuable results have been 
obtained and utilized through special applications to individ- 
uals and through voluntary contributions induced by interest 
in the publications thus far made. The liberality of Congress, 
it is hoped, will soon allow of the publication of bulletins espe- 
cially designed to make known without delay the discoveries 
and deductions of the scholars throughout the world who may 
thus co-operate with. the Bureau. By this means an effective 
impulse will be given to their researches. 

In order to set forth the operations of the Bureau with suf- 
ficient detail, the subject will be divided, as heretofore, into 
three principal parts, the first relating to the publications 
issued, the second to the work prosecuted in the field, and the 
third to the office work, this last being to a large extent the 
preparation for publication of the results of field work, with the 
corrections and additions obtained from the literature of the 
subject and by correspondence. 


PUBLICATIONS. 


The Second and Third Annual Reports were issued and dis- 
tributed during the year. 

The Second Annual Report contained pp. i-xxxvil, 1-477, 77 
plates, 403 figures, and 2 maps. The papers accompanying 
the official statement of the Director are as follows: 

Zuni Fetiches, by Frank H. Cushing; pp. 3-45, plates I-XI, figures 1-3. 

Myths of the Iroquois, by Erminnie A. Smith; pp. 47-116, plates XII-XYV. 

Animal Carvings from Mounds of the Mississippi Valley, by Henry W. Henshaw ; 
pp. 117-166, figures 4-35. 

Navajo Silversmiths, by Dr. Washington Matthews, U. 8. A.; pp. 167-178, plates 
XVI-XX. 

Art in Shell of the Ancient Americans, by William H. Holmes; pp. 179-305, plates 
XXI-LXXVII. 

Illustrated Catalogue of the Collections obtained from the Indians of New Mexico 
and Arizona in 1879, by James Stevenson; pp. 3807-422, figures 347-697, and 1 map. 

Illustrated Catalogue of the Collections obtained from the Indians of New Mexico 
in 1880, by Jamvs Stevenson; pp. 423-465, figures 698-714, and 1 map. 


OF THE BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY. XIX 


The Third Annual Report contained pp. i-Ixxiv, 1-606, 44 
plates, and 200 figures. In addition to the purely official state- 
ment of the Director, the introduction to the volume contained 
papers by him on kinship and the tribe, on kinship and the 
elan, on tribal marriage, and on activital similarities. The 
accompanying papers were as follows: 

Notes on Certain Maya and Mexican Manuscripts, by Prof. Cyrus Thomas; pp. 3-65, 
plates I-IV, figures 1-10. 

On Masks, Labrets, and Certain Aboriginal Customs, with an inquiry into the bear- 
ing of their geographical distribution, by William H. Dall; pp. 67-202, plates V— 
XXIX, with two unnumbered figures in text. 

Omaha Sociology, by Rev. J. Owen Dorsey; pp. 205-370, plates XXX-XXXIII, fig- 
ures 12-42. 

Nayajo Weavers, by Dr. Washington Matthews, U.S. A.; pp. 371-391, plates XXX1TV— 
XXXVIII, figures 42-59. 

Prehistoric Textile Fabrics of the United States, derived from Impressions on Pot- 
tery, by William H. Holmes; pp. 393-425, plate XXXIX, figures 60-115. 

Illustrated Catalogue of a Portion of the Collections made by the Bureau of Ethnol- 
ogy during the field season of 1831, by William H. Holmes; pages 427-510, figures 
116-200. 

Illustrated Catalogue of the Collections obtained from the Pueblos of Zuni, New 
Mexico, and Wolpi, Arizona, in 1881, by James Stevenson; pp. 511-594, plates XL— 
XLIV. 


FIELD WORK. 


In this branch of duty facts are collected in archeology and. 
technology by means of explorations directed to ancient and 
modern material objects produced by the native tribes, and in 
philology, mythology, and sociology by means of examination 
of the members of those tribes, both as individuals and as 
aggregations. 

Former reports have fully explained that without the au- 
thority and assistance of the Government little useful work 
can be done in the collection and preservation of material ob- 
jects. The purpose of private explorers in this direction is 
usually to procure relics or specimens for sale or merely to 
gratify curiosity, with the result that these are often scattered, 
and lost for any comprehensive study, while their receptacles, 
whether mounds, graves, or ruins, are in many cases destroyed 
without intelligent examination or record, by which students: 
are,forever deprived of needful illustrative and explanatory 
data. The trained explorers of the Bureau preserve all useful 


XX ANNUAL REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR 


facts touching the localities concerned, and the objects col- 
lected, both ancient and modern, are deposited in the National 
Museum. Experience has also shown that individual travelers, 
unguided and without common system, have failed to obtain 
the best results in the ascertainment of Indian languages, 
philosophies, and customs. The study of these subjects 
cannot be pursued from the accounts (however invaluable) 
of the early explorers and the precious vocabularies of pioneer 
missionaries without the interpretations and corrections to be 
obtained among existing tribes by the latest scientific methods 
of research. For these but little time now remains. 


MOUND EXPLORATIONS. 
WORK OF PROF. CYRUS THOMAS. 


The division organized for the survey and exploration of 
mounds and other ancient works in the territory of the United 
States east of the Rocky Mountains, which, as before reported, 
was placed in the charge of Prof. Cyrus Thomas, continued 
work during the year with satisfactory results. 

Exploraticns were carried on not only during the summer, 
autumn, and spring, but also throughout the entire winter. 

The regular assistants were the same as during the previous 
year, viz: Mr. P. W. Norris, Mr. James D. Middleton, and Dr. 
Edward Palmer. Messrs. John P. Rogan, John W. Emmert, 
and L. H. Thing were also employed for short periods as tem- 
porary assistants. 

The investigations of Mr. Norris were confined to the Kana- 
wha Valley, West Virginia, until suspended by extreme cold 
weather, when he went to Arkansas; but he returned to West 
Virginia in the latter part of May and remained there during 
the first part of June, 1884. Through his explorations it was 
made manifest that one of the most extensive and remarkable 
groups of ancient works in the United States is contained in 
the section mentioned. There is probably no group exhibit- 
ing a greater variety of works. They comprise mounds of 
various forms froma few inches to 40 feet in height, cireu- 
lar and irregular inclosures, parallel lines of walls, elevated 


OF THE BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY. XXI 


ways, basins and ditches, stone cairns, and rude stone struct- 
ures of an anomalous character. 

Although the exploration of this interesting group is far from 
complete, it is sufficient to indicate with great probability that 
the people who constructed the mounds within it built the 
Grave Creek Mound or were intimately related to the authors 
of that celebrated tumulus. Some indications also appear that 
the builders of these mounds were related to the authors of the 
ancient works of the Scioto Valley. 

Mr. Middleton was engaged during the summer and fall in 
exploring the small circular tumuli found in Southwest Wis- 
consin, usually in connection with the effigy mounds. Although 
these tumuli are mostly simple burial mounds, of the ordinary 
type, the result obtained was of much importance, as it served 
to show not only that the burial mounds opened and described 
by Dr. I. A. Lapham and Dr. P. R. Hoy were typical of the 
class throughout the effigy mound area, but that Dr. Lapham 
was justified in his conclusions in reference to the authors of 
these works. During the winter Mr. Middleton’s operations 
were confined to Arkansas. 

Mr. Thing was engaged during a few months of autumn and 
winter in exploring mounds of the southeastern counties of 
Missouri and the northeastern portion of Arkansas. The re- 
sults of the investigations made in this part of the Mississippi 
Valley will have an important bearing upon the questions re- 
lating to the objects for which the mounds were erected and 
the manner in which they were used. Many additional data 
were obtained in reference to the forms, materials, and modes 
of construction of the dwellings of the mound builders of this 
section and to the modes of burial adopted by them. The 
collection of mound pottery made in this section exceeds that 
of the previous year and is important on account of the differ- 
ent tvpes procured and the number of whole and uninjured 
vessels obtained, some of which are supposed to present true 
facial types. 

Mr. Rogan was employed for some months in exploring the 
works in Florida and in Northern Georgia. In the former the 


XXII ANNUAL REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR 


results were almost wholly negative, except so far as they 
tended to show that in Florida the mounds were chiefly domi- 
ciliary and that but few were built for burial purposes. In 
Northern Georgia his work was confined chiefly to an explora- 
tion of the well known and often mentioned Etowah group 
near Cartersville. This examination brought to light the most 
remarkable and important mound builder relics so far dis- 
closed in the United States. These are very thin, evenly 
wrought sheets of copper, on which are impressed, as regularly 
as though done with metallic dies or by means of machinery, 
figures bearing a manifest resemblance to the typical forms 
noticeable in the ancient codices of Mexico and Central America 
and in the ruins found in those regions. The skill and art 
manifested in their manufacture are far in advance of anything 
hitherto discovered appertaining to the mound builders and 
raise a serious doubt as to their aboriginal origin. The condi- 
tions under which these articles were found clearly indicate 
that they were placed in the mounds when the latter were built 
and not subsequently. 

The explorations of Dr. Palmer were confined chiefly to 
Southern Alabama and Southwestern Georgia, and, though 
rewarded by no remarkable discoveries, still they have added 
much evidence concerning the construction and uses of south- 
ern works and have served to correct some errors in the 
published accounts of the noted groups in Early County, 
Georgia. 

Mr. Emmert was engaged for a short time in examining an- 
cient graves in East Tennessee and works in Western North 
Carolina. 

The collections made exceed in number and value those of 
the preceding year, and the data obtained bearing on the ques- 
tions relating to the origin and uses of these works, and the 
habits and customs of the people who constructed them, are 
very important and will serve to throw much additional light 
on these interesting problems. 


_ 


OF THE BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY. XXIII 


EXPLORATIONS IN THE SOUTHWEST. 


WORK OF MR. STEVENSON. 


Mr. James Stevenson with a small party continued the ex- 
plorations in Arizona and New Mexico which had been before 
prosecuted as reported in previous years. He explored several 
large and important ruins in Northeastern Arizona, where he 
made some valuable collections, including skeletons, skulls, 
ancient pottery, and bone and stone implements. At the ruins 
of Tally-Hogan the party discovered the ancient burial ground 
of the inhabitants. This was in the sand dunes, a series of 
which surrounds the western side of the ruins. Heretofore it 
has been supposed that the Indians buried their dead among 
the rocks on the mesa sides. Their mode of burial, as now 
ascertained, was to place the dead at the foot of a sand dune 
and to cover the body, together with some implements and 
other articles which had belonged to the deceased, with sand. 
Many vases and bowls and other small objects were found in 
the graves. 

Mr. Stevenson subsequently visited the seven Moki villages 
in Arizona, from which he obtained important information as 
well as a collection of their household and other utensils. The 
work of this party for the field season was concluded by an 
examination of two distinct classes of ancient ruins in Ari- 
zona, one about 10 miles northeast, the other about 15 miles 
southeast of Flagstaff. The former consisted of sixty or more 
cave dwellings, situated on the summit of a round lava-capped 
hill. The dwellings are close together and were carved 
out beneath the hard shelter rock of lava, under which the 
material was rather loose, readily yielding to the rude stone 
implements used in making the excavations. In these dwell- 
ings fragments of ornamented pottery were discovered resem- 
bling somewhat the ancient pottery so abundant in many por- 
tions of Arizona, and specimens of it were collected. Other 
objects, such as metates, stone axes, mullers, and corn cobs, 
were found in the excavations, and the seeds of several species 
of small grain were scattered through them. Fragments of 


XXIV ANNUAL REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR 


several kinds of bone were also found, representing the elk, 
deer, wolf, badger, rabbit, and some other animals. 

The ruins about 15 miles southeast of Flagstaff are sim- 
ilar to those in Canon de Chelly. These ruins are extensive 
and are built on terraces in the side of Walnut Canon. ‘They 
differ, however, from the cliff dwellings of Canon de Chelly in 
construction. The doors are large and extend from the ground 
up to a sufficient height to admit a man without stooping. The 
rooms are large and the walls are 2 to 4 feet thick. The fire- 
places are in one corner of the room on an elevated rock, 
and the smoke can only escape through the door. The ma- 
sonry compares favorably with any employed in the construc- 
tion of the best villages in Canon de Chelly. Many objects of 
interest were found in the débris around and in these houses. 
Matting, sandals, spindle whorls, and stone implements of 
various kinds abound. The ruins in the vicinity of Flagstaff 
were ascertained to be of sufficient value to require further 
investigation. 


WORK OF MR. VICTOR MINDELEFF. 


In the latter part of August a party in charge of Mr. Vic- 
tor Mindeleff was ordered to the field, and camp was formed 
about the middle of September at the ruined pueblo of Kin- 
Tiel, 24 miles south of Pueblo Colorado, Arizona. A large 
scale ground plan was made of this excellently preserved old 
pueblo, together with contours of the irregular site on which it 
is built, and a full series of photographs was obtained. While 
here several excavations were made in and around the ruined 
village, from which a number of interesting specimens of bone, 
stone, and pottery were secured. One undisturbed burial was 
found, from which a skeleton and two bowls were taken. 
A noticeable object met with in excavating a marginal room of 
the pueblo was a circular doorway, made of a single slab of 
sandstone pierced by a large round hole. This specimen was 
taken out entire from its place in the wall and is now in the 
National Museum. A small ruin, known by the Navajo name 
of Kinna-Zinde, a few miles from Kin-Tiel, was examined and 


a oe 


4 


OF THE BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY. XXV 


photographed. Its position on the edge of a long valley on 
an eleyated bit of rock suggests its use in connection with 
petty agriculture. Several other ruins of small size occur in 
this vicinity, but the masonry is broken down and overgrown 
with grass and sage brush, so that the arrangement of rooms 
is not traceable. 

On finishing this work the party proceeded to Canon de 
Chelly, Arizona, entering the cation at its mouth. The entire 
canon and all its branches, comprising a length of 85 miles, 
were explored and platted to a scale of 8 inches to the mile, 
a seale sufficiently large to exhibit clearly the relation of the 
ruins to the surrounding topography. Each ruin, after its 
position had been accurately indicated on this map, was drawn 
in detail, the ground plan being given whenever practicable. 
A few of these ruins were inaccessible and could only be drawn 
as seen from below. The cafion and its branches contained one 
hundred and thirty-four ruins, of the greatest variety, both in 
size and in the character of the sites occupied. This work was 
finished early in December, the party returning to Fort Win- 
gate, New Mexico, and proceeding thence to the pueblo of 
Acoma for the purpose of making a collection of pottery. 
Twelve hundred pieces were secured, principally in the latter 
part of December. While the party was camped at this point 
an architectural survey of the village was also made. The 
ground plans were drawn to a scale of 20 feet to the inch, as 
had been done previously in the cases of the Zuni and the 
Tusayan villages, with the object of preparing a large model. 

Mr. Victor Mindeleff reported at Washington early in Janu- 
ary, leaving the camp in charge of Mr. Cosmos Mindeleff until 
the shipment of the pottery, which it was not possible to com- 
plete until the end of January. 


ZUNI RESEARCHES. 
WORK OF MR. F. H. CUSHING. 


Mr. Frank Hamilton Cushing continued to supplement and 
extend the field work in Zuni referred to in the reports of his 
operations for the preceding four years. During the last six 


XXVI ANNUAL REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR 


months of 1883 he successfully exerted himself to increase his 
influence among the Zuni Indians with special reference to se- 
curing his complete initiation (begun by the seaside at Boston, 
in 1882) into their Ka-Ka& or sacred dance organization. 

While awaiting the long deferred opportunity for recording 
the.ancient epic rituals of the tribe, which he hoped to gain by 
means of initiation into the Ka-Ka, he undertook, at intervals 
during the winter of 1883—84, systematic explorations of the 
sacrificial grottoes and native shrines of the Zuni in the main 
and tributary valleys of their pueblos. In and upon the mesa 
of Taai-yal-lon-ne (Thunder Mountain) alone he found eight 
of these depositories, three of which proved to be entirely pre- 
historic. On the headlands, both north and south of Zuni, he 
traced eleven additional shrines, and near both Pescado and 
Nutria he found others, all rich in ancient remains. More im- 
portant than any of these, however, were three caverns, or rock 
shelters, situated in two canons, one about nine miles east of 
Zuni, the other southeast and nearer the pueblo by three miles. 
Two of these caves were at a remote date used as receptacles, 
one containing a burial cairn, the other an extensive accumu- 
lation of well preserved idols of war and rain gods, symbolie 
altar tablets, sacred cigarettes, long and short prayer wands, 
and numerous examples of textile, cordage, and plume work. 
The latter depository was the more important in that it is still 
used and held sacred by the Zuni, and hence is clearly referable 
to their ancestry. Its contents evidently connected it with the 
crater and cave shrines discovered by Mr. Cushing on the Up- 
per Colorado Chiquito, in 1881, and described in the report of 
his explorations for that year. As, however, he was forced to 
visit these places either in company with Indians or by stealth, 
the objects could not be disturbed. 

Pursuing his explorations southward, he discovered, between 
twenty and thirty miles from the central Zuni Valley, not only 
two caves containing sacrificial remains, but also a number of 
cemeteries of undoubted ancient Pueblo Indian origin. These 
burial places yielded perfect crania and well preserved vessels 
of pottery and in all respects, save in extent, corresponded to 


5s Yaladlies 


OF THE BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY. XXVII 


those of Arizona examined and reported on by him during the 
spring of 1883. 

He thinks that the primitive house building Indians, al- 
though they at first practiced burial by interment, carried the 
remains of their dead (judging by the cemeteries under dis- 
cussion) to great distances from their permanent homes. This 
would partly account for the delay in discovering Pueblo burial 
places. He is further of the opinion that afterward, when the 
present methods of terraced communal architecture (induced 
by defensive considerations and productive of conditions and 
populations rendering interments impracticable) began to pre- 
yail, water sepulture came into vogue. According to Zuni 
tradition, this was performed by cremating the bodies and 
carrying the remains to sacred springs, or lagunes, into which 
they were cast. 

In seeking later to locate the ‘‘ Seven Cities of Cibola,” Mr. 
Cushing made linguistic, geographic, and traditional studies 
relative to the succession of architectural types in the South- 
west, with the following results. 

The ancestral Pueblos, of whom the Zuni are markedly the 
modern representatives, dwelt. 

(1) In conical, circular brush shelters or lodges (Hani-pon- 
ne, from ha-we, dried brush, branches, or leaves, and pdé-ne, 
placed convergingly or covering over circularly). 

(2) In lodges of masonry of lava stones laid up dry, but 
plastered (H¢é-sho-ta-pon-ne, from he-sho, wax rock; ta-we, 
wood, timber, and pdé-ne), from which rude circular struct- 
ures the rectangular shapes were developed, through crowding 
together on limited mesa sites many houses in rows, each 
most economically separated from those contiguous by straight 
partition walls. 

(3) In solitary hamlets or scattered houses, distributed ac- 
cording to the occurrence of water and accommodating lim- 
ited families or numbers engaged in horticultural operations. 
(Hence the name for a single house, K4a4-kwin-ne, from K‘id- 
we, water, and kwin-ne, place of.) 

(4) In cliff and canon houses, or cave buildings, resorted 


XXVIII ANNUAL REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR 


to from the scattered houses or agricultural hamlets for protec- 
tion. (Hence Osh-ten-u-thlan, an upper story room, from 
Osh-ten, a cave, rock shelter, and u-thla-nai-e, built within 
or surrounded by, literally, ‘cave room.”) 

(5) In mesa villages, composed of confederated clans of the 

cliff hamlets. (Hence Thlu-éllon-ne, the modern name for a 
village, from thlua, many set up, and ¢l-lon-a, standing to- 
gether— that is, ‘many built up in one.”) 
(6) In great terraced (and often walled) valley villages, 
owing their strength to the number of the inhabitants. In this 
last condition the Shi-wo-na or Cibola (Zuni) tribes were 
found by the Spanish conquistadores in 1539-40 

It will be observed that some of the etymologies given above 
present slight variations from etymologies heretofore given by 
Mr. Cushing in the Fourth Annual Report. 

Based upon these studies Mr, Cushing made others regard- 
ing the sociologic history of the Zuni Pueblos, &ec., seeming 
to indicate that during the periods of the horticultural hamlets 
(third of the above) and cliff villages (fourth of the above) 
agnatic institutions, owing their origin to the segregation of 
the enatie clan ties or kins of the lava village period (second of 
the above), began to be developed Although the original 
enatic institutions (never thoroughly outgrown) seem to have 
been reyerted to on the resumption of communal village life 
(fifth and sixth of the above), still he finds what he regards as 
survivals of the other and higher social condition. For ex- 
ample, the brothers of a woman are no longer known as the 
“fathers” of her children, although more anciently they had 
been, as language shows, thus considered; while the brothers 
of aman are called the ‘lesser fathers” of his children. Again, 
a child is considered as the property of both the father and the 
mother gens, and marriage in the father clan, although not 
forbidden, is discouraged, and rarely if ever takes place. In 
this order may also be placed the father feasts, when children 
assemble to eat with their fathers and in their fathers’ houses 
at the beginning of the year. Further evidence in the cus- 
toms of inheritance, which in some curious ways vary from 
purely enatic institutions of descent, might be adduced as sur- 


Or THE BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY. XXIX 


vivals, judging by all which Mr. Cushing considers the Zuni 
to be intermediate between savage and barbaric stages of 
culture, yet retaining distinctly the cultus of savagery in their 
social condition and in a large phase of their worship. 

Early in March it was found expedient to recall Mr. Cush- 
ing to Washington. This prevented his initiation into the Ka- 
ka Still, by virtue of his membership in the Priesthood of 
the Bow, he was permitted, before leaving, to be present at the 
initiation of other candidates and to hear the protracted recital 
heretofore referred to by him (but unaptly, he now thinks) as 
the “Zuni Iliad” This remarkable recitation, while in classic 
and metric and not unpoetic language, is, he learned, a true 
ritual It gives many mythic details, stating the names of 
probably all the villages and resting places of the Zuni dur- 
ing their pristine migrations, and also the names of the whole 
council of gods of the Ka-Ka. It is, however, couched in 
such, jargonistic or archaic terms, so rapidly delivered and 
so extended (requiring more than six hours for its delivery) 
that he found it impossible to record it or even to write ver- 
batim the several shorter, though not less remarkable, rituals 
which followed it. The value of these rituals and the songs 
illustrating them—most of which it is incumbent on a member 
to memorize — will explain Mr.Cushing’s long cherished desire 
to enter the Ka-Ka. He regards them, unvaried as they are 
from generation to generation, not only as important contribu- 
tions to unwritten American Indian literature, but also essen- 
tial to the right understanding of early Zuni migrations and 
mythology. 

LINGUISTIC FIELD WORK. 
WORK OF MRS. E. A. SMITH. 


During the summer of 1883 Mrs. Erminnie A. Smith con- 
tinued her Iroquois investigations, taking up as a special study 
the Oneida and their dialect. To accomplish this the locali- 
ties occupied by them in New York State and their reserva- 
tions at Green Bay, Canada, were visited by her and a com- 
plete chrestomathy of the dialect was prepared. 


XXX ANNUAL REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR 


WORK OF MR. H. W. HENSHAW. 


During the months of October and November, 1883, Mr, 
Henry W. Henshaw was occupied in linguistic researches in 
Nevada and California. 

The Washo tribe was found to number about three hundred, 
with its center in the neighborhood of Carson, Nev., and a 
vocabulary of the language was obtained according to the 
method prescribed in the Introduction to the Study of In- 
dian Languages. From the fragmentary vocabularies of this 
tongue before accessible the Washo had been supposed to be 
the sole representative of a linguistic stock, a supposition which 
the present vocabulary sustains. 

The Panamint Indians, whose language had before been un- 
known, were then visited and a similar vocabulary was ob- 
tained From it, this tribe is ascertained to belong to the Sho- 
shonian stock of languages. — - 

Notwithstanding the popular belief that the Panamint tribe 
is on the verge of extinction, a census obtained from an intel- 
ligent English-speaking woman of the tribe shows their num- 
ber, by actual count of individuals known to her, to be 106, 
there being in her opinion about 50 more with whom she was 
unacquainted, making a total of about 156. 

These Indians live about the various mining camps and 
towns in the neighborhood of Death and Panamint Valleys, 
Inyo County, California. Their tribal cohesion is lost and 
their lives are parasitic, mainly dependent upon the bounty of 
the white citizens. Their ultimate extinction therefore seems 
impending. 


WORK OF DR. WASHINGTON MATTHEWS,-U. S. A. 


Dr. Washington Matthews, assistant surgeon U.S. A., while 
on military duty at Fort Wingate, New Mexico, continued dur- 
ing the entire year his collection of material for a grammar and 
dictionary of the Navajo language, and also obtained informa- 
tion, for future publication, regarding the ceremonies, myths, 
and folk lore of that tribe. An important paper was prepared 


OF THE BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY. XXXI 


by him on the “Navajo names for plants,” showing their 
mode of discrimination and classification of the flora of their 
region. 


WORK OF MR. JEREMIAH CURTIN. 


On September 1, 1883, Mr. Jeremiah Curtin went to the 
Cattaraugus Reservation, New York, where he collected about 
one hundred and seventy myths and some texts. Many of 
these myths are long and were written out with full details. 
The collection is valuable from its accuracy and completeness. 
From Cattaraugus Mr. Curtin went to the Indian Territory, 
where he collected myths till June 30, 1884. The whole 
number obtained during the year was about four hundred, of 
which seventy-five were Modoc and the remainder Yuchi, 
Pottawatomi, Sak, Shawnee, and Seneca. Vocabularies of 
the Yuchi and Pottawatomi languages were also collected. 


WORK OF DR. W. J. HOFFMAN, 


Dr. W. J. Hoffman, in the autumn of 1883, visited the Ot- 
tawa, Ojibwa, and Pottawatomi Indians of Northern Michi- 
ean and the Sisseton and Mdewakantanwan bands of Dakota 
in Minnesota and Dakota, with special reference to the study 
of pictographs and gesture signs, and collected additional ma- 
terial. 

OFFICE WORK. 


The collection and examination of materials for future pub- 
lications considered to be fundamental to the study of Indian 
anthropology continued to engage the attention of the Director 
and other officers of the Bureau. These projected publications 
are: (1) Aseries of charts showing the habitat of all tribes when 
first met by Europeans and at subsequent eras; (2) a diction- 
ary of tribal synonomy, which should refer the multiplied and 
confusing titles, as given in literature and in varying usage, to 
a correct and systematic standard of nomenclature ; (3) a clas- 
sification, on a linguistic basis, of all the known Indians of 
North America, surviving and extinct, into families or stocks. 


XXXII ANNUAL REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR 


The importance of this undertaking, the manner in which it is 
being executed, and the difficulties attending it were detailed 
in the last annual report. It was also there explained that 
the determination and classification of the linguistic families 
and stocks is an indispensable preliminary in this work. 

Col. Garrick Matiery continued to be engaged during 
the year in the study of sign language among the North Amer- 
ican Indians compared with that among other peoples and 
among deaf mutes—or, more generally, the gesture speech of 
man—with the purpose of publishing a monograph on that 
subject. He also prepared a paper on the pictographs of the 
North American Indians, designed to be an introduction to the 
study of pictographs which has been published in the Fourth 
Annual Report of the Bureau. In the whole of this work he 
was assisted, particularly in the illustrations, by Dr. W. J. 
Hoffman. 

Mrs. Erminnie A. Smita, on returning from the field, was 
engaged upon special studies in several Iroquoian dialects. 
The Mohawk words previously translated from the dictionary 
of Father Marcoux were all recopied and their literal meanings 
were given, as were also over 6,000 words in the Tuscaroré 
dialect. 

She also prepared several studies upon pronouns and other 
parts of speech for use in the introduction to her Iroquoian 
Dictionary, work upon which was continued. 

Rev. J. Owen Dorsey was engaged during the year on an 
English-Winnebago vocabulary; a Kwapa-English vocabu- 
lary; Osage and Kansa texts, local and personal names; and 
the social organization of the Dakota. A paper on Kansa 
mourning and war customs, with charts, was prepared; also, 
one on the migrations of Siouan tribes, with a map and charts. 
He examined and criticised a manuscript dictionary of the 
Musquito language. He also made 3,552 entries for an Osage- 
English Dictionary, 4,970 entries for a Kansa-English Die- 
tionary, and over 9,000 entries (from A to Ma) for a (legiha- 
English Dictionary. 

Mr. Apert 8S. GatscHeT was engaged during the first 
months of the fiscal year in reading proof of his Klamath Diec- 


OF THE BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY. XXXIII 


tionary, being the second or English-Klamath part. After- 
wards he began to correct and largely rewrite the manuscript 
of the Klamath Grammar, with great improvements derived 
from the copious notes which he had made during the print- 
ing of the texts and the dictionary. At the close of the year 
portions of the manuscript had heen revised and the proof was 
corrected. 

Mr. Frank Hamiron Cusurye, on returning to- Washington 
early in May, prepared a paper on Pueblo pottery as illustra- 
tive of Zuni culture growth, which was published in the Fourth 
Annual Report of the Bureau. 

He also prepared a paper on the Ancient Province of Cibola 
and the Seven Lost Cities, in which he not only identifies 
conclusively the ‘seven cities” with seven ruins in the Zuni 
Valley, but also furnishes examples of the permanence of In- 
dian tradition, and of its value, when properly weighed, as a 
factor in ethnographic and historic research. 

Mr. Cushing reports as the most important results of his 
studies during the year those relating to the myths and folk 
tales abundantly recorded by him during previous years. By 
extended comparisons made between these folk tales and myths 
and by the use of etymologic checks and suggestions, he is 
able to trace the growth of mere ideas, or of primitive concep- 
tions of natural or biotic phenomena, of physical or animal 
functions, into the persone on the one hand and the incidents 
on the other which go to make up myths. Further, he traces 
the influence of these realizations or formulations on the wor- 
ship of the Zuni. Two examples are presented, as follows: 

(1) The circle or halo around the sun is supposed to be and 
is called by the Zuni the House of the Sun-God. This Mr 
Cushing explains by the analogies of the case. A man seeks 
shelter on the approach of a rainstorm. As the sun circle al- 
most invariably appears only with the coming of a storm, the 
Sun, like his child, the man, seeks shelter in his house, which 
the circle has thus come to be. 

The influence of this simple inference myth on the folk lore 


of the Zuni shows itself in the perpetuation, until within recent 
5 ETH——IIl 


XXXIV ANNUAL REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR 
” 


generations, of the round sun towers and circular estufas so 
intimately associated with sun worship, yet which were at first 
but survivals of the round medicine lodge. 

(2) The rainbow is a deified animal having the attributes of 
a human being, yet also the body and some of the functions of 
a measuring worm Obviously, the striped back and arched 
attitude of the measuring worm, its sudden appearance and 
disappearance among the leaves of the plants which it inhabits, 
are the analogies on which this personification is based. As 
the measuring worm consumes the herbage of the plants and 
causes them to dry up, so the rainbow, which appears only after 
rains, is supposed to cause a cessation of rains, consequently 
to be the originator of droughts, under the influence of which 
latter plants parch and wither away as they do under the 
ravages of the measuring worms. Here it will be seen that the 
visible phenomenon called the rainbow gets by analogy the 
personality of the measuring worm, while from the measuring 
worm in turn the rainbow gets its functions as a god. Of this 
the cessation of rain on the appearance of the rainbow is ad- 
duced as proof, and the incidents of the myth history of the 
rainbow gods are, as might be shown by additional illustration, 
but further dramatizations of these functions of the measuring 
worm. So much indeed is this the case that the fading of 
flowers is attributed to the rainbow, who, consuming their 
imperceptible existences, thus derives his brilliant coloring just 
as it is believed that the measuring worm gets his green, yel- 
low, and red stripes from the leaves and flowers which he de- 
vours. The influence of all this analogie philosophy is shown 
in the Zuni theogony and worship by the way in which the 
rainbow is relegated to a place among the malignant gods of 
war—hence painted on war shields—and made a demon to be 
propitiated, yet shunned. Therefore he is unhonored in the 
worship of the Zuni, turned from by them when he appears 
in the sky, and covertly imprecated in set formule. 

The general conclusions from these examples may be that 
in folk myths natural phenomena become personified, mostly 
by visible analogy, while functions become dramatized, but 





OF THE BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY XXXV 


that the reverse may sometimes be the case, and both to a far 
more elaborate and complex extent than can here be illustrated 
by quotations from Mr, Cushing’s abundant yet unfinished 
notes. 

Mr. James C. Pitiine continued the preparation of the Lin- 
guistic Bibliography, and proof-sheets of pages 561-1040 were 
received from the printer. Copies of these sheets were dis- 
tributed as heretofore, and much assistance was rendered by 
Senor Joaquin Garcia Icazbalceta, of the City of Mexico, and 
Drs. J. Hammond Trumbull, of Hartford, Conn., J. G. Shea, 
of Elizabeth, N. J., and D. G. Brinton, of Media, Pa. 

During November and December, 1883, Mr. Pilling made a 
trip to Hartford for the purpose of visiting the library of Dr. 
Trumbull, where a number of new titles and much interesting 
information were obtained. On his way to Washington a very 
profitable week was spent in the library of Dr. Brinton. The 
valuable linguistic material relating to that portion of North 
America lying south of the United States which had been col- 
lected with much labor by Dr. Berendt had fallen, by pur- 
chase, into the hands of Dr. Brinton, and proved to be one of 
the richest of the repertories utilized by the compiler of the 
work. 

Mr. Caarves C. Royce continued his work upon the His- 
torical Atlas of Indian Affairs, the character of which has been 
set forth in former reports and also appears in the introduc- 
tory pages of his paper on the “Cherokee Nation of Indians” 
in the present volume. 

Mr. Wituram H. Hotmes, in addition to his charge of the 
preparation of illustrations for the publications of the Bureau, 
has continued the archeologic studies begun in previous years, 
confining his investigations more especially to ceramic art and 
ornament. 

In the latter part of 1884 he was assigned to the duty of 
preparing an ethnologic and archzeologic exhibit for the 
World’s Industrial Exposition at New Orleans. This work 
was supplemented by the preparation of minor displays for 
the expositions at Cincinnati and Louisville. 


XXXVI ANNUAL REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR 


Mr. Holmes has had charge of such collections of the Bureau 
as were not under the direct supervision of Mr. James Steven- 
son or Prof. Cyrus Thomas. Detailed catalogues of these col- 
lections have not been prepared for publication, but a short list 
of the acquisitions of the year is as follows: 

From Mr. George Hurlbut, of Belvidere, Ill., an additional 
part of a very valuable collection of articles from the ancient 
burial places of Peru has been received. A portion of the 
same collection was presented td the Bureau in 1882, and 
was described, and to some extent illustrated, in the Third 
Annual Report of the Bureau. This second installment com- 
prises a variety of utensils and art products of the ancient 
peoples, the most important being a series of woven fabrics of 
elaborate construction, rich colors, and elegant designs. Ilus- 
trations of these will be published. Gifts of shell beads found 
in the possession of the Abnaki Indians, of Maine, were made 
by Mrs. W. W. Brown, of Calais, Me. Fragments of ancient 
pottery were presented by Mr. Joseph D. MeGuire, of Elli- 
cott City, Md., and a large amount of material has been 
brought in from various sections of the country by the agents 
of the Bureau. The most important of these is a large collec- 
tion of vases and other articles from the Pueblo of Acoma, 
New Mexico. 

Messrs. Vicror and Cosmos MINDELEFr, after their return 
from the field, were occupied in the preparation of a map of the 
Canon de Chelly and its branches from the material obtained. 
A number of the plans of the larger ruins, whose positions and 
relations to the canon are shown on this map, were redrawn 
from the field data. While this work was being done and the 
field notes and material were being arranged and classified, 
the work of modeling the Tusayan villages, which had been 
suspended for the field trip, was again taken up by Mr. Cosmos 
Mindeleff and continued until June, when all other work was 
laid aside for the preparation of the diagrams and working 
drawings necessary for the construction of a new series of 
models illustrating the ancient pueblos and cliff ruins. These 
models formed part of the Government exhibit at the New 
Orleans Exposition. 


OF THE BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY. XXXVII 


Prof. Cygus THomas, in addition to the general direction of 
the mound explorations described under the head of field work, 
was personally engaged in marking and arranging the collec- 
tions obtained and in preparing catalogues of them for the 
Bureau and the National Museum. 

The system of cataloguing adopted has been carried out 
with accuracy. Archzeologists may therefore rely with confi- 
dence on the statements in these catalogues, as care has been 
taken, wherever there exists any doubt as to the locality where 
or conditions under which a specimen was found, to expressly 
state the fact. These catalogues are not intended for publica- 
tion, but will be retained in the National Museum for refer- 
ence. 

The collections and the arrangement of data for an arche- 
clogic map of the eastern half of the United States were begun 
during the year and some progress was made. The paper on 
“Burial mounds of the northern sections of the United States,” 
published in the present volume, was also substantially com- 
pleted. 

Dr. H. C. Yarrow continued research and correspondence 
for a monograph on the mortuary customs of the North Amer- 
ican Indians, and arrangements were made to enhance its value 
by his personal expeditions in the field. 

Mr. Jeremian Curtiy, during the months of July and 
August, before his departure for the field, continued his studies 
upon Seneca folk lore and the linguistic material in his charge. 


ACCOMPANYING PAPERS. 


The papers presented in the present volume exhibit studies 
in several fields of research. A large amount of space is de- 
voted to prehistoric archeology, but no less attention is given 
to definite history as ascertained from records, literature, and 
reliable tradition, while the special treatises and incidental dis- 
cussions connected with mythology and sociology offer, prob- 
ably, more popular interest. Separate mention of the several 
papers follows in their printed order. 


XXXAVIIL ANNUAL REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR , 


BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS OF THE UNITED 
STATES, BY PROF. CYRUS THOMAS. 


Throughout a large part of the térritory now embraced in the 
United States several varieties of workings upon and imme- 
diately beneath the surface of the earth are found which were 
made by the population existing at the time of the European 
occupation or prior thereto. For the moment it is not neces- 
sary to inquire whether the works mentioned were all made 
before the Columbian discovery or whether some of them are 
not much later; or, again, whether their authors were confined 
to the tribes, variously and loosely styled “aboriginal” and 
“Indian,” which were found within the region by its first white 
explorers, or whether they are to be attributed to a people 
more ancient than the historic Indian. Considering, for the 
present, the works themselves, several of their varieties, such 
as the pyramidal mounds and raised inclosures, sometimes ap- 
parently erected for defensive purposes, others being more 
probably mere ruins of village sites, give evidence of the num- 
bers, distribution, and, to some extent, of the habits and the 
stage in culture of their builders. But the mounds raised in 
connection with the burial of the dead are far more important 
than all others. They indicate, both by their modes of con- 
struction and by their contents, the sociology, philosophy, and 
art of their authors. The nearly universal custom of deposit- 
ing with the corpses or skeletons articles of property formerly 


. 


belonging to the deceased, and other objects of ceremonial re- 


lation, with such care that some of them are still preserved, 
now enables us to gather from the sepulcher a life history of the 
persons buried and of those who paid to them the funeral rites 

The present paper, by Professor Thomas, is devoted to the 
last mentioned class of mounds. in connection with which, how- 
ever, it has been necessary for him to discuss other classes in 
the investigation of evidentiary and illustrative details. The 
paper shows the large amount of work done by the division of 
mound exploration of the Bureau, both in the collection of facts 
and in their comparison. It also exhibits the fruitful results of 
the general study of all varieties of mounds, as well as the 


OF THE BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY. XXXIX 


more restricted field of those connected with burial. In the 

presentation of his views Professor Thomas exhibits care, can- 

dor, and accuracy, and the illustrations presented are amply 

sufficient to explain the text when needed, while the quotations — 
from and references to the literature of the subject impress 

the reader with a sense of its thorough study. 

The paper, from considerations relating both to space and 
to the completeness of research, does not embrace all of the 
territory of the United States in which burial mounds have 
been found, but is confined to the northern portion. This is 
divided into districts, established from typical characteristics, 
which are described. They are— 

(1) The Wisconsin District, comprising the southern half 
of Wisconsin, a small portion of Northern Illinois, and the 
northeastern corner of Iowa. 

(2) The Illinois or Upper Mississippi District, embracing 
Eastern Iowa, Northeastern Missouri, and Northern and Cen- 
tral Hlinois. 

(3) The Ohio District, including Ohio, the western part of 
West Virginia, and the eastern part of Indiana. 

(4) The New York District, including, together with the 
northern and western parts of New York, the lake region of 
its central portion. 

(5) The Appalachian District, comprising Western North 
Carolina, Eastern Tennessee, Southwestern Virginia, and part 
of Southeastern Kentucky. 

The method of reasoning pursued by Professor Thomas, 
after his presentation of facts, may be illustrated by a con- 
densation of his conclusions respecting the Wisconsin District, 
as follows: 

The evidence in regard to these unstratified mounds ap- 
pears to lead directly to the conclusion that they are all the 
work of the Indians (or of their ancestors) found occupying 
the country at the time it was first visited by whites. If 
+t is conceded that the small unstratified tumuli are in part 
their work, there would seem to be no escape from the con- 
clusion that all the burial mounds of this district are to be as- 
cribed to them; for, although there are two or three types of 


XL ANNUAL REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR 


burial and of burial mounds, the gradation from one to the 
other is so complete as to leave no marked line of distinction. 
The stratified mounds in which the hard clay or mortar cover- 
ing over the remains is found may be the work of tribes dif- 
ferent from those which constructed the small unstratified tu- 
muli, but the distinctions between the two classes are not such 
as to justify the belief that they are to be attributed to a dif- 
ferent race or to a people occupying a higher or widely dif- 
ferent culture status. 

Having reached this conclusion, it is necessary to take one 
step further in the same direction and ascribe the singular 
structure known as “effigy mounds” to the same people. The 
two classes of work are too intimately connected to admit of 
the supposition that the effigy mounds were built by one race 
or people and the conical tumuli by another. 

The works of different tribes may frequently be found in- 
termingled on areas over which successive waves of popula- 
tion have passed, but that one part of what is clearly a system 
is to be attributed to one people and the other part to another 
people is an hypothesis unworthy of serious consideration. 
The only possible explanations of the origin, object, or mean- 
ing of these singular structures are based, whether avowedly 
so or not, on the theory that they are of Indian origin. 

The facts that the effigy mounds were not used as places of 
sepulture and that no cemeteries save the burial mounds are 
found in connection with them afford almost conclusive proof 
that the two, as a rule, must be attributed to the same people, 
that they belong to one system. 

The vexed question Who were the mound builders? is prop- 
erly stated as follows: 

Were all the mounds and other pre-Columbian works explored 
in that portion of the United States east of the Rocky Mount- 
ains built by the Indians found in possession of this region at 
the time of its discovery and their ancestors, or are they in 
part to be attributed to other more advanced races or peoples, 
such as the Aztec, Toltec, Pueblo, or some lost race of which no. 
historic mention exists? 


OF THE BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY. XLI 


After the presentation of much evidence, some of which, 
the product of recent explorations, is equally surprising and 
convincing, the general conclusions of the paper are submitted 
as follows: 

First. That different sections were occupied by different 
mound building tribes, which, though belonging to much the 
same stage in the scale of culture, differed in most instances 
in habits and customs to a sufficient extent to mark, by their 
modes of burial, construction of their mounds, and their works 
of art, the boundaries of the respective areas occupied. 

Second. That each tribe adopted several different modes of 
burial, depending, in all probability, to some extent upon the 
social condition, position, and occupation of the deceased. 

Third. That the custom of removing the flesh before the 
final burial prevailed very extensively among the mound 
builders of the northern sections, the bones of the common 
people being often gathered together and cast in promiscuous 
heaps, over which mounds were built. 

Fourth. That usually some kind of religious ceremony was 
performed at the burial, in which fire played a prominent part; 
but, notwithstanding the very common belief, there is no evi- 
dence whatever that human sacrifice was practiced. 

Fifth. That there is nothing found in the mode of construct- 
ing these mounds, nor in the vestiges of art they contain, to 
indicate that their builders had reached a higher culture status 
than that attained by some of the Indian tribes found occupy- 
ing the country at the time of the first arrival of Europeans. 

Sixth. That the custom of erecting mounds over the dead 
continued to be practiced in several localities in post-Colum- 
bian times. 

Seventh. That the character and condition of the ancient 
monuments and the relative uniformity in the culture status 
of the different tribes, shown by the works and the remains of 
art found in them, indicate that the mound building age could 
not have continued in this part of the continent longer than a 
thousand years, and hence that its commencement probably 
does not antedate the fifth or sixth century. 


XLIL ANNUAL REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR 


Nothing has been found connected with the mounas to sus- 
tain or justify the opinion, so frequently advanced, of their 
great antiquity. The caleulations based upon the supposed 
age of trees growing on some of them are fast giving way 
before recent investigations in regard to the growth of forests, 
as it has been ascertained that the rings of trees are not a sure 
indication of age. 

Eighth. That all the mounds which have been examined and 
carefully studied are to be attributed to the tribes found inhab- 
iting this region and their ancestors. 

A suggestion may perhaps be offered with regard to the sev- 
enth of the above propositions. Professor Thomas has fully 
established the conclusion that the mound building period con- 
tinued into the historic period. He has overthrown the theory 
of the vast antiquity of a higher stage of culture antedating the 
Indian occupancy of the country, which theory has been widely 
accepted by careless thinkers and writers. In doing this he 
has rendered an inestimable service to the proper study of the 
Indian tribes. But an attempt to fix the duration or beginning 
of the mound building period is unadvisable in the absence of 
evidence not yet obtained and which may never be forthcoming. 

It also may be suggested that there is not yet sufficient evi- 
dence to justify any decided view as to the routes by which 
the several Indian tribes reached their historic seats. Much of 
that which has been obtained is conflicting, and for the present 
it is not possible to arrive at sound and enduring conclusions. 


THE CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS, BY CHARLES C. ROYCE. 


The introductory part of this paper explains the plan and 
scope of the Historical Atlas of Indian Affairs upon which Mr. 
Royce has been for several years engaged. ‘The body of the 
paper exhibits the method of the work as applied to the Chero- 
kee Nation, as it is now officially styled by itself and recog- 
nized by the United States in the language of treaties and stat- 
utes, though in strictly scientific phraseology the people con- 
stituted a confederacy, their several towns being the tribal 
units. 


oe 


OF THE BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY. XLIII 


The Cherokee appear more prominently and for a longer 
period in the treaties, state papers, and judicial decisions of 
the United States than any other body of Indians. For two 
hundred years, in wars, in councils, and in courts, they have 
been engaged in struggles involving their existence, and they 
are one of the few Indian peoples that have passed through 
such ordeals into present prosperity. Their history shows that 
when the improperly directed power of the white race did not 
absolutely prohibit their advance in civilization some such ad- 
vance was always attained, and it was always resumed after 
interruption when possible. During thirty years after the 
treaty of 1791 they made such manifest strides towards civ- 
ilization, both in herding and in husbandry, that at the end of 
that time their agent reported Government assistance to be 
no longer necessary or desirable, the people being perfectly 
competent to take care of themselves, and in 1827 they estab- 
lished a government, republican in form and satisfactory in 
its operation until paralyzed in 1830 by the hostile action of 
Georgia. Their forced removal in 1838 to the west of the 
Mississippi for a time diminished their numbers, impaired their 
confidence, and menaced their prosperity; yet five years later 
their energy and determination had exhibited renewed im- 
provements, which continued until the war of the rebellion 
brought to them more desolation than to any other community. 
They were raided and sacked alternately by the forces of the 
United States and by those of the Confederacy and were di- 
vided among themselves into fighting factions. Their country 
became a waste, and in the few years of the war their numbers 
were reduced by at least one-third; yet to-day they are more 
prosperous than ever before and have probably a greater popu- 
lation than at any time since they have been known in history, 

The essay commences with the first treaty, in 1785, con- 
cluded between the Cherokee and the United States, and after 
reciting the more important provisions it presents the historical 
data connected with its negotiation and the events leading 
thereto, followed by its results. This plan is pursued with 
regard to all treaties and the circumstances connected there- 


XLIV ANNUAL REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR 


with to the present date. In this manner attention is paid in 
an orderly sequence to the history-traditions, to De Soto’s ex- 
pedition, to the early contact with Virginia and Carolina colo- 
nists, to the territory and population at the period of the En- 
clish settlement, to successive boundaries and cessions, and to 
the various controversies ensuing. Through the paper appear 
biographical notices, details of life in the years of the colonies 
and the infant republic, accounts of the trials and struggles 
produced by deportation and conflict, and statistics of fluctu- 
ating gains and losses, all of deep interest and importance. It 
is believed that the care and skill devoted by Mr. Royce to 
make the statement both accurate and comprehensive, fortify- 
ing it also by the citation of the best authorities, will render it 
valuable to statesmen, historians, and lawyers. 


THE MOUNTAIN CHANT: A NAVAJO CEREMONY, BY DR. WASHING- 
TON MATTHEWS, U. S. A. 

This paper isamost important contribution explanatory of the 
philosophy of the North American Indians. It gives in detail, 
as seen bya thoroughly equipped witness, one of the most illus- 
trative of the ceremonies of the Navajo, a large body of In- 
dians of the Athabascan linguistic stock now occupying a res- 
ervation which embraces parts of New Mexico and Arizona, 
though until a period commencing less than fifty years ago 
the range of these people extended much farther south. The 
essay is divided into (1) a translation, with incidental explana- 
tions of the myth on which the ceremonies are based, (2) the 
ceremonies themselves, including the mythologie sand paintings, 
and (3) the originals and translations of the songs and prayers 
used in the ceremonies, which all refer to the myth. 

This myth exhibits the stage in mythologic philosophy in 
which zoétheism and physitheism are both represented. In it 
the phenomena of nature are the work of animal gods, but 
these gods are becoming anthropomorphic. A strong general 
resemblance appears between this myth and those recorded 
from Algonkian and Iroquoian sources, but it is presented by 
Dr. Matthews in a much more pure and accurate manner than 
those published by Schoolcraft and other oft-quoted authors. 


OF THE BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY. XLV 


It is given in the genuine Indian style and conception, without 
admixture of European interpretation and civilized gloss. 
For this reason, as well as from its intrinsic value, it is certain 
that henceforth the story of Dsilyi‘ Neyani (Reared Within 
the Mountains) will be studied with more interest and profit 
than those of Iouskeka and Manabozho, hitherto most current 
in the literature of Indian myths. Throughout the paper Dr. 
Matthews has followed the alphabet for Indian words used in 
the Bureau of Ethnology and explained in the Introduction to 
the Study of Indian Languages. 

In its briefest expression the myth of Dsilyi‘ Neyani shows 
his captivity among the Ute, his escape by the intervention 
of gods, and his travels, sufferings, and adventures in regain- 
ing his home, all of which, under divine guidance, were in the 
nature of an initiation into religious rites, with the injunc- 
tion that these should be communicated by him to his people. 
Shortly after his return, having performed his duty as teacher 
or prophet, he disappeared to rejoin the gods, in accordance 
with their promise made to him during his initiatory travels. 
It would be impossible, without elaborating a commentary upon 
the text nearly equaling it in length, to point out the numerous 
essential similarities to be found in it with the myths of the 
Egyptians, the Hindus, the Greeks, and other still better known 
peoples, as recorded and discussed in modern literature. It is 
suflicient now to invite attention to the instructive evidence of 
similarity in the stage of mythologic- philosophy coming from 
a before unexplored source and only modified by the readily 
understood differences of environment. 

That the myth is of great antiquity is shown by the archaic 
character of the language employed and by the references to ob- 
solete customs; yet there are contained in it some passages and 
incidents obviously modern, for instance, the allusion to horses. 
It is not a cosmogony myth, though it is partly a myth of 
tribal history commencing at a time when the Navajo had be- 
come a distinct people; but it is in a large degree a myth of 
religion, in the strict sense of that term as comprehending the 
relations of man to occult powers and the practices connected 


XLVI ANNUAL REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR 


with such relations. The Navajo have an entirely distinct 
creation myth, which is long and elaborate and which Dr. 
Matthews has obtained and will publish hereafter. 

The ceremonial, lasting nine days, is one of many among the 
Navajo, seventeen, each of nine days’ duration, being known 
to survive. This people, like other bodies of North Ameri- 
can Indians, devote their winters to religion, mysticism, and 
symbolism, by which their whole lives and thoughts are im- 
bued to an extent difficult to realize in modern civilization. 
This ceremony dramatizes the myth, with rigorously prescribed 
paraphernalia and formularies, with picturesque dances and 
shows, scenic effects, and skillful thaumaturgic jugglery. It 
is noticeable also that here the true popular drama is found 
in the actual process of evolution from religious mysteries or 
miracle plays, as has been its history in other lands and among 
other races. The ceremonies are presented by Dr. Matthews 
with admirable precision of observation and statement, to which 
he adds his sketches, furnishing the illustrations of the sand 
pictures, the production, manipulation, and destruction of 
which form the most peculiar portions of the ceremonial. It is 
to be remarked that the shaman has become the professional 
and paid artist and stage manager, under whom is gathered a 
traveling corps of histrions and scenic experts. 

The parts of the ceremonial immediately connected with the 
cure of disease, particularly the application of the pigments 
constituting the bodies of the mythic personages, afford evi- 
dence additional to former knowledge of the origination of 
medical practices. 

The medicine man is an important functionary among all 
the tribes of North America and medicine practices constitute 
an important element in the daily life of the Indian tribe. But 
medicine practices cannot be differentiated from religious rites 
and observances. The doctor is the priest and the priest is 
the doctor; the medicine man is priest-doctor. 

In studying the medicine practices of the North American 
Indians from the standpoint of medicine, the subject may be 
advantageously considered in three parts: First, an effort 


OF THE BUREAU OL ETHNOLOGY. XLVII 


should be made to discover the Indian’s idea or conception of 
disease, i. e, what is Indian pathology? Second, an attempt 
should be made to discover the Indian method of curing or 
avoiding diseases, i. e., what is Indian therapeutics? And, 
third, an effort should be made to discover what knowledge the 
Indian has of the medicinal properties of minerals, plants, and 
other remedial agencies, i. e., what is the Indian materia medica? 
In systematically examining the subject among various tribes 
of North America and in reading the literature of the subject, 
the following general conclusions are reached: 

First. The Indian’s pathology is largely, if not wholly, myth- 
ologic. Diseases are attributed to evil beings, the malign in- 
fluence of enemies, and to various occult agencies. Second. 
Indian remedies are largely, if not wholly, magical, and con- 
stitute an integral part of their religion. This paper by Dr. 
Matthews clearly illustrates this point and derives special 
value therefrom. Third. Various tribes of Indians seem to 
have a knowledge of certain medical properties in certain 
plants, i.e. they know of emetics, purgatives, and intoxi- 
ecants; but they do not seem to use this knowledge in any 
reasonable system of remedies. Purgatives, emetics, and intox- 
icants are used more frequently by the priest than by the 
patient, and still more frequently by the clan or by bodies of 
persons engaged in the performance of rites which are rather 
of a religious nature, but which are yet designed to ward off 
disease or to cure those actually suffering; but no rational 
system of medicine has been discovered and authentically de- 
scribed as existing in any North American tribe. On these 
subjects a large body of material has been collected by the 
Director and other officers in the Bureau, which, when prop- 
erly systematized and published, will shed much light upon the 
subject. 

In the details set forth in the present paper numerous prac- 
tices—for instance the incantation to images, the sacred fumi- 
gation or incense, and the supposed absorption of the body of 
divinity by the patient or devotee—are analogous to observ- 
ances of the same description—intended for physical or spirit- 


XLVIII ANNUAL REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR 


ual benefit, or for both—still in use by many nations and 
individuals throughout the world whose philosophies cannot be 
traced to a more common origin with those of the Navajo than 
the general principles governing the evolution of human thought 
by graded stages. All who practice these observances declare 
them to have descended to them from above, that is, from 
some concept of divinity, as may be explained by the principle 
of ancientism; but the evidence shows that they all have arrived 
from below, that is, from a lower plane of humanity. 


THE SEMINOLE INDIANS OF FLORIDA, BY CLAY MACCAULEY. 


The Indians known as Seminole are of the Muskokian lin- 
euistic stock who before the present century left their con- 
geners and dwelt within the present limits of Georgia and 
Florida. A chief cause of the separation was disagreement 
among the people of the towns of the Lower Creeks and 
Hichiti concerning their relations with Europeans settling in 
the country. It is asserted that many turbulent and criminal 
Indians joined the emigrants, and thus the word ‘‘Seminole” or 
‘“Simandlé” — meaning separatist or renegade—became a term 
of opprobrium applied by the Creeks who had remained in 
their ancient seats. It is however to be noted that the present 
inhabitants of the Everglades repudiate the title and cast it 
back upon the much larger portion of their people now in the 
Indian Territory, thus impugning their courage and steadfast- 
ness, probably in allusion to the fact that the latter succumbed 
to the power of the United States in their deportation. The 
Apalachi, Timucua, and others of the earliest known inhabit- 
ants of the Floridian peninsula had been driven away and 
nearly exterminated in the wars of 1702 to 1708, leaving an 
immense tract of territory vacant for the Seminole migration, 


and some of the Muskoki were established in the southern- - 


most part of the peninsula at the middle of the sixteenth 
century. Probably the people who are the subject of this 
paper are in part their descendants, while others may be de- 
scended from comers of a century later, but they are prob- 
ably all the offspring of the determined band who, though 


Ee 


ae 


EE eee ee 


OF THE BUREAU OF ETuNOLOGY. XLIX 


defeated in war, would never submit to the Government of the 
United States, but retreated to the inaccessible cypress swamps, 
while the majority of their surviving comrades removed to the 
Indian Territory, another body having fled into Mexico. The 
Seminole war of 1835 to 1842 was the most stubbornly con- 
tested of all the Indian wars, and, considering the numerical 
force of the tribe, or perhaps even without that qualification, 
was the most costly and disastrous to the United States. 
During the seven years mentioned nearly every regiment of 
the regular army was engaged against them, besides marines 
and sailors, and in addition, for longer or shorter periods, 
50,000 militia and volunteers. The cost of the war was 
$30,000,000 and over 3,000 lives. Of the Seminole probably 
not more than 400 warriors were engaged, their numerical 
weakness being counterbalanced by the topographic character 
of the country which they defended. 

The Seminole, who are described in the present paper as 
of a high grade in physique and intelligence, may well be de- 
scendants of these heroes. It was natural that their inherited 
enmity and also their sense of danger should have induced 
them during the last half century to repel all visits from whites, 
and more especially from representatives of the United States 
Government. Their dwellings and villages have been so lo- 
cated as to secure this isolation, and the account now given 
of them by the Rev. Clay MacCauley, D. D., is the result of 
the first successful attempt to ascertain their true numbers and 
condition. Notwithstanding his ingenuity and energy, the 
adverse circumstances did not permit this investigation to be 
exhaustive; but it has been sufficient to discover some impor- 
tant and instructive facts set forth in the present essay. 

The status of these Indians is peculiar in that their contact 
with civilization has hitherto been regulated, to an extent not 
known elsewhere, by their own volition, and has not been im- 
posed upon them. Visitors, traders, and Government agents 
have been denied admission, but the Indians have in a lim- 
ited way visited the settlements beyond their own boundaries 


and traded there. The result has been a remarkably prosper- 
5 ETH——IV 


L ANNUAL REPORT OF THE DIRECTOK 


ous condition in agriculture and domestic industries. This is 
not to be attributed wholly to the favorable character of their 
soil and climate, as under similar environment many peoples 
are lazy and improvident, whereas the Seminole of Florida are 
industrious and frugal. That they have advanced in culture 
during the last generation is doubtless true, but it is a common 
and pernicious error to consider the Indian tribes at the time 
of the Columbian discovery as wholly without knowledge of 
agriculture, depending solely on the chase, fishing, and the 
spontaneous products of the earth. This error is a part of the 
feree nature theory which has been so baneful in the past 
consideration of the aboriginal inhabitants. No radical change 
was necessary for the greater portion of the Indian tribes to 
become self supporting by the industries classed as civilized, 
provided that their treatment had been rational and in accord- 
ance with the slow but certain operations of nature. Through- 
out the continent generally the pressure of the white settlers 
did not allow of the necessary delay, but here it was obtained. 
The advance of the Seminole has been practically without 
European instruction, the efforts of the Spanish missionaries of 
the seventeenth century having only left some traces of inter- 
polation in their myths. They have adopted from European 
civilization some weapons, implements, and fabrics and have 
shown their capacity for imitation and adaptation; but their 
progress toward civilization has been their own work in the 
orderly course of evolution, and is therefore instructive. 


THE RELIGIOUS LIFE OF THE ZUNI CHILD, BY MRS. TILLY E. 
STEVENSON. 


During each of the years commencing with 1878, Mrs. 
Stevenson has spent some time among the Zuni, and four 
whole field seasons were devoted by her to observation and 
study among that people. Her researches were mainly among 
the women of the tribe and directed to the understanding of 
domestic life. Women among the Zuni have charge of rites 
and observances in which the men have no participation and 
of which they have no direct knowledge; therefore no male in- 


OF THE BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY. LI 


vestigator, wnose relations in respect to tne religious orders and 
ceremonies must be exclusively with the men, can become ac- 
quainted with the peculiar beliefs and rituals among the women. 
The work of Mrs. Stevenson, therefore, is complementary to 
that of Mr.Cushing, which has before been reported. Her ob- 
servation upon the public ceremonies and mythology as known 
to both sexes has also been independent of Mr. Cushing and 
made from a different point of view; therefore her contribution 
upon them has an especial value. 

Mrs. Stevenson has divided her voluminous notes respecting 
Zuni child life into two parts: one, the practical or domestic, 
embraces the habits, customs, games, and experiences of the 
children; the other, the religious instruction and observances 
connected with childhood. The last mentioned division is the 
subject of her paper in this volume. It is introduced by a 
brief notice of the mythology connected with the rites de- 
scribed and by an account of the topography and natural feat- 
ures to which references appear in the myths. 

The devotion of the Zuii to religious practices, in which their 
time, labor, and property are so deeply absorbed, has before 
been reported, but Mrs. Stevenson presents with conscientious 
accuracy many new details. Among these details the student 
of comparative mythology will notice several parallels with 
the practices of other lands and periods of history, and some 
of these will strike even those less erudite in comparative my- 
thology, who still are familiar with classical literature. One 
of these is the painful whipping of the young children on the 
occasion of an important rite, perhaps in its origin designed 
to secure its impression on their memory, as in some ancient 
European practices for the perpetuation of testimony. Another 
is the whipping by ceremonial ministrants of persons wholly 
unconnected with the immediate rites, and at the request of 
the latter, to obtain the realization of a wish, and more espe- 
cially for fertility, which was an important element in the Lu- 
percalia, perhaps the oldest of all the Roman rites. The vestal 
virgins of Roman and of other religions are suggested by the 
selection of maidens among the Zuii initiated into sacred 


Lil ANNUAL REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR 


orders and charged with special duties on the condition that 
they shall remain unmarried. 

In the details of the ceremonies described, as well as in their 
dominant conception, there is an obvious similarity to some cur- 
rent practices among Christian peoples. 

The Zuni believe that in order to secure success and happi- 
ness each male child, before reaching the age of four years, 
must receive the sacred breath of supernatural beings. ‘This 
is done by dramatic personation in an elaborate ceremony re- 
curring every four years, and the most noticeable point is that 
the vows of the child are taken for him by sponsors, these vows 
to be renewed by the boy after attaining the age of discretion, 
opportunity for which is afforded by an annual ceremony. 

The frequent appearance of the number four throughout 
these ceremonies is now well understood to originate among 
these Indians, as among others, in their personification of the 
winds blowing from the four cardinal points. The less fre- 
quent but still marked recurrence of the number nine, which 
is also specially noticeable in the Navajo myth in the present 
volume, has not hitherto been satisfactorily explained. From 
portions of Mrs. Stevenson’s paper and from her yet unpub- 
lished notes it would seem to have some reference to the nor- 
mal period of human gestation. 

The primitive tribal state seems to have been organized for 
the regulation of the conduct of its members toward one an- 
other; that is, it is a civil organization proper, the purpose of 
which is to secure internal peace and co-operation. But the 
organization of the tribal state and the form of its government 
are always modified to a greater or less degree by two other 
considerations, which are potent agencies in forming the insti- 
tutions of primitive societies. One concerns intertribal rela- 
tions, and leads to the organization of society for the conduct 
of war; the other concerns the relations which exist, or are 
supposed to exist, between the people and invisible beings, and 
leads to the organization of society for religious purposes. On 
the civil organization there are always imposed a military and a 
religious organization, and the magistrate, the warrior, and the 


OF THE BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY. LIII 


priest are forever contending with one another for power, and 
the ideas or principles which these officers represent are ever 
in conflict with one another, and now one, now another, gains 
the ascendency. 

Among the tribes of the United States which have been 
studied the civil organization is usually paramount; but among 
the Zuni religion appears to dominate in such a manner that 
the priest-doctor, or ‘‘medicine man,” as he has usually been 
termed, is superior in rank, authority, and influence; or, what 
is essentially the same, the priest is ex officio ruler in peace and 
leader in war. From this fact the study of the sociology of the 
Zuni acquires great interest. 




















EXPENDITURES. 
Classification of expenditures incurred during the fiscal year ending June 
30, 1884. 
Classification. Amount 
expenued. 

ESN NOS teense een tel oe ae enn wee nienacincdaais e daaeniaees woecnodonc da sdeccsetuaccess $33, 788 10 
B. Traveling expenses ........-..-------- 1,776 71 
C. Transportation of property 399 03 
D. Field subsistence 625 70 
Tie OHA Gey EVE a GS gf 0 SO Se Re ee ee ae ee er 512 88 
its JOS DT EIT Skog esc CS RES SnOSS 4a OSC -C LOOSE RC ESE e) OPEB EEO BOSEE HER oO- PEE eeeEree 
G. Instruments ....-.-. 
II. Laboratory material 
Pi PHOLOMTA RHIC MNMLOMIAN oo. ces me emo eesee a Oe woe ceam mean een Saath COaR So Sea E 96 30) 
K. Books and maps 284 25 
PAM WOnery ANG Cra WINE MALCIDI .cscce sn cnee beccaaie=nsuelssecuslcccserccecsereccscu== sd 7 95 
ee On AC OneMOnTONOL A ted cnnnisnan se coen an vanessa ans scemenion tessa sen aossecenaccse 174 00) 
PN POMIOG TONES se ucsenccsescusccasa=n-~a05 Set, HESS 
O. Office furniture ...........----.------. 55 00 
P. Office supplies and repairs..-.........--- =5 6 70 
CHISEL ED 8 efeitos S05 605 SORE OR CHEE Cc CEROTOC OC HOLES SE OICOE BESS SESS RADE SEC OE SE paso eS ES) HeCEE SESE 
R. Correspondence... scotenesse tees 14 53. 
Seen les Or CistrLDution CO NCIAMA ee = non seaman 2-Uockmesasiuemslocsasecstesiorncdanwadeacs|cenescactwec 
RR POGUNENS oem eeces=<neese snes <a are case = aes san es 1,593 &6 

Balance on hand to meet outstanding liabilities... Bc 5 5 101 99 





Pop aleae dt aw awe CADSR SOAC CHOC OCE NO SEES ESSE OSECCeE OR CRE CASAC OCAA SE CnC EOg OF cEoE 40, 000 00 














th 














SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION——BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY. 








BURIAL MOUNDS 


OF THE 


NORTHERN SECTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 


BY 


PRO CMAs) MAOMAS: 























a 








CONTENTS, 







- ‘The Gea GUST coaSse conceg ube SacoSseches seed sease costo easese sone 


my 


(SSD OR ESD SEES CSM Seo post see eto cseols Gee ae ae eee 87 

Mea Concludinsrremarke?s!-20 6885. ots too nes eee noc cress PORE ee ee eere 108 

vee Supplemental note ...... ..---.-- 2. ++2-20 22-20 eee eee cnet ee ceee eee eee eee 110 
= gp 5 





PLATE 


Fic. 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


I. Group of earthworks, Allamakee County, Iowa ...--..------------ 
Il. Enlarged figure and section of earthwork A, Pl. I -..-..-.---.----- 


III. Group of mounds and vertical section of bluff, East Dubuque, 


TUG ihestee 3 oS BRAC SEO BOOTOO LOOSE? BESd paps So SU OseDScoRm ons 


Iv. Amound. (From DeBry)-----.---------------------------------- 


V. Plat of ancient works, Kanawha County, West Virginia-- --------- 


VI. Enlarged plan of part of the works shown in Plate V ..---.------- 


ule 
. Section of burial mound. Vernon County, Wisconsin.--.---.- ------ 
. Earthen pot from Wisconsin burial mound -------.------------- ---- 
. Section of burial mound. Crawford County, Wisconsin --.-.--.----- 
. Section of burial mound. Crawford County, Wisconsin--...-.-------- 
. Section of burial mound. Vernon County, Wisconsin..---...------- 
. Section of burial mound. Davenport, lowa-.-..----- ------------- 
. Section of mound showing stone vault. Iowa..---..----------.----- 
. Plat of Indian burying ground. Wapello County, lowa..-----..----- 
. Section of mound 4. East Dubuque, Illinois ------------------------ 
. Section of mound 16 (Plate III), showing vault..-----.----.--------- 
. Plan of vault, mound 16 (Plate III)..---..----- --------------------- 
. Pipe from Illinois mound. (From Smithsonian Report, 1884)-....---. 
. Pipe from Hlinois mound. (From Smithsonian Report, 1884) ---...-- 
. Pipe from Illinois mound. (From Smithsonian Report, 1884) S22 eee 
3. Group of mounds. Brown County, Illinois..----.------------------- 
. Form of the larger mounds of the preceding group..----------------- 
. Groups of mounds. Clarke County, WHER OH a5 eeeasdeucdsess Gaodod 
. Ohio burial mound. (After Squier and Davis) .--------------------- 
. Wooden vault of Ohio mound. (After Squier and Davis).-----.----- 
. Copper gorget from mound. Kanawha County, West Virginia ...--- 
. Pipe from mound. Kanawha County, West Virginia ....-.....------ 
. Pipe from Ohio mound. .... ---- ----------++++-----2 00-2 0tret trttte 
. Mound with so-called ‘‘altar.” Kanawha County, West Virginia. --- 
_ T.F.Nelson mound. Caldwell County, North Carolina.-...--....----- 
_ T. F. Nelson triangle. Caldwell County, North Carolina. ..--.------- 
. Engraved shell gorget. Caldwell County, North Carolina......-..--- 
. Cylindrical copper bead. Caldwell County, North Carolina.-.....--.. 
. Bracelet of copper and shell beads. Caldwell County, North Carolina. - 
. Iron implement. Caldwell County, North Csrolingieers-eeqse 
. Iron implement. Caldwell County, North (Comolli). ood moaise c oboe 
_W.D. Jones mound. Caldwell County, North Carolina-.-.---------- 
. Plan of the R. T. Lenoir burial pit, Caldwell County, North Carolina. - 
. Fire-bed. Wilkes County, North Carolina --.--------------------+-+- 


Section of mound near Racine, Wisconsin. (After Lapham) ..-.---- 


46, 


Section of mound. Henderson County, North Carolina....-......--- 


j. Section of mound. Henderson County, North Carolina .....-.-..--..- 
. Plan of burials in mound. Sullivan County, Tennessee. ..---.-..---- 
3. Pipe from mound. Sullivan County, Tennessee.........---.---.----- 
. Large mound of Etowah group. Bartow County, Georgia...-....... 
. Vertical section of small mound, same group ..--.---.-----..--------- 
~ Plantof burials:in same mound emcee == tee ee eee eee ee 
2. Copper plate from Etowah mound. Georgia .......-.---...---.----. 
3. Copper plate from Etowah mound. Georgia ....--....-..-.---.----- 
. Copper badge from Etowah mound. Georgia .----.......-..-....--. 
5. Copper badge from Etowah mound. Georgia......---. .---..-.----- 


Engraved shell from Etowah mound. Georgia.............--..-.--- 


. Engraved shell from Etowah mound. Georgia..-..........-.-.--.-. 
- Copper: plate from Tlinois mound’: 2-2-2 2 -eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee 
. Copper plate from Indian grave. Illinois ..............-...-.-.-..-. 


BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS OF 
THE UNITED STATES. 


By Cyrus THOMAS, PH. D. 


INTRODUCTORY. 


All the works of the mound-builders of our country are exceedingly 
interesting to the antiquarian and are valuable as illustrating the hab- 
its, customs, and condition of the people by whom they were formed, but 
the sepulechral tumuli surpass all others in- importance in this respect. 
Although usually simple in form and conveying thereby no indications 
of the characteristics of the people by whom they were erected, yet 
when explored they reveal to us, by their internal structure and contents, 
more in regard to the habits, beliefs, and art of their authors than can 
be learned from all their other works combined. From them we are en- 
abled to learn some traits of ethnical character. The gifts to, or prop- 
erty of, their dead deposited in these sepulchers illustrate their arts and 
customs and cast some rays of light into their homes and daily life, and 
the regard for their dead indicated by the remaining evidences of their 
modes of burial and sepulchral rites affords some glimpses of their re- 
ligious beliefs and superstitions. The larger and more imposing works, 
as the pyramidal mounds, the enclosures, canals, ete., furnish indications 
of their character, condition, strength, and culture-status as a people 
or tribe, but the burial mounds and their contents, besides the evidences 
they furnish in regard to the religious belief and art of the builders, 
tell us something of individual traits, something of their social life, 
their tastes, their personal regard for each other, and even something of 
the diseases to which they were subject. What is still more important, 
the modes of burial and vestiges of art found with the dead furnish us 
undoubted evidences of tribal distinctions among the authors of these 
works, and, together with the differences in external form, enable us to 
determine in a general way the respective areas occupied by the differ- 
ent tribes or peoples during the mound-building age. 

Judging by all the data so far obtained relating to the form, internal 
structure, and contents of these works, much of which has not yet been 

9 


10 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 


published, we are perhaps warranted in concluding that the following 
districts or areas were occupied by different peoples or tribes. Asa 
matter of course we can only designate these areas in general terms. 

(1) The Wisconsin district, or area of the emblematic or effigy mounds. 
This embraces the southern half of Wisconsin, a small portion of the 
northern part of Illinois, and the extreme northeast corner of Iowa. 
The effigy or animal mounds form the distinguishing feature of the 
works of this district, but aside from these there are other features 
sufficient to separate the works of this section from those further south. 

(2) The Illinois or Upper Mississippi district, embracing eastern Iowa, 
northeastern Missouri, and northern and central Illinois, as far south 
as the mouth of the Illinois River. 

In this region the works are mostly simple conical tumuli of small 
or moderate size, found on the uplands, ridges, and bluffs as well as 
on the bottoms, and were evidently intended chiefly as depositories of 
the dead. They are further characterized by internal rude stone and 
wooden vaults or layers ; by the scarcity of pottery vessels, the frequent 
occurrence of pipes, the presence of copper axes, and often a hard, 
mortar-like. layer over the primary or original burial. The skeletons 
found are usually extended, though frequently in a sitting or squatting 
posture. 

Walls and enclosures are of rare occurrence in this region. 

(3) The Ohio district, including the State of Ohio, the western part of 
West Virginia, and the eastern portion of Indiana. Although the works 
of this region present some features which are common to those of the 
Gulf section, there are several peculiar characteristics which warrant 
us in designating it as a distinct district. Among other of these peculiar 
features we notice the great circles and squares of the enclosures, the 
long parallel lines of earthen walls, the so-called “ altar mounds,” or 
mounds containing structures chiefly of clay to which the name “altar” 
has been applied ; the numerous carved stone pipes; the character of 
the pottery and the methods of burial. 

(4) The New York district, confined chiefly to the northern and west- 
ern parts of the State of New York, but including also the lake region 
of the central portion. 

As the antiquities of this district have been shown by Squier to be 
chiefly due to the Indian tribes occupying that section at the time of 
its discovery by the Europeans, it is unnecessary to note the distinguish- 
ing characteristics. The works are chiefly enclosing walls, remains of 
palisades, and burial mounds. 

(5) The Appalachian district, including western North Carolina, east- 
ern Tennessee, southwestern Virginia, and part of southeastern Ken- 
tucky. 

The characteristics which appear to warrant us in concluding that 
the works of this region pertain to a different people from those in the 
other districts, at the same time seem to show some relation to those of 


THOMAS. ] ARCHEOLOGICAL DISTRICTS 11 


the Ohio district. Such are the numerous stone pipes, the altar-like 
structures found in some of the mounds, and the presence of mica plates 
with the skeletons. But the peculiar features are the mode of burial, 
the absence of pottery, and the numerous polished celts and engraved 
shells found in the mounds. 

Although it is probable that there are at least three districts in the 
southern portion of the United States, they appear to pass from one into 
the other by such slight changes in the character of the works as to 
render it exceedingly difficult to fix the boundaries between them. I 
therefore mention the following, provisionally, as being those indicated 
by the data so far obtained. 

(6) The Middle Mississippi area or Tennessee district, including south- 
east Missouri, northern Arkansas, middle and western Tennessee, south- 
ern and western Kentucky, and southern Illinois. The works of the 
Wabash valley possibly belong also to this district, but the data ob- 
tained in regard to them are not sufficient to decide this point satis- 
factorily. This district, like the others of the south, is distinguished 
from the northern section by its larger mounds, many of which are 
pyramidal and truncated and often terraced, and which were, beyond 
question, used as domiciliary mounds. Here we also meet with re- 
peated examples of enclosures though essentially different from those of 
Ohio; also ditches and canals. From the Lower Mississippi and Gulf 
districts, with which, as we have said, it is closely allied, it is distin- 
guished chiefly by the presence of the box-shaped stone cists or coffins, 
by the small circular house-sites or hut-rings, and by the character of 
the pottery. This is pre-eminently the pottery region, the typical forms 
being the long-necked, gourd-shaped vase and the image-vessels. In 
this district the carved stone pipes are much less common than in the 
Illinois, Ohio, and Appalachian districts. 

(7) The Lower Mississippi district, including the southern half of Ar- 
kansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. There are no marked characteristics 
by which to distinguish it from the Middle district; in fact as we move 
southward along the Mississippi from the mouth of the Illinois river, 
the works and their contents indicate a succession of tribes differing 
but slightly in habits, customs, and modes of life, the river generally 
forming one natural boundary between them, but the other boundaries 
being arbitrary. For example, the Cahokia region appears to have 
been the home of a tribe from which at one time a colony pushed 
northward and settled for a while in Brown and Pike Counties, Illinois. 
The extreme southeastern counties of Missouri were probably the seat 
of another populous tribe which extended its borders into the western 
part of southern Illinois and slightly into northeast Arkansas, and 
closely resembled in customs and art the ancient people who oceupied 
that part of the Cumberland valley in middle Tennessee. This subsec- 
tion is principally distinguished by the presence of the small circular 
house-sites, which are slightly basin-shaped, with a low ring of earth 


12 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 


around them. As we move farther southward into Arkansas the house- 
sites change into low circular mounds, usually from 1 to 3 feet in height, 
and in nearly every instance containing a layer of clay (often burned) 
and ashes. 

These small mounds, which are clearly shown to have been house- 
sites, were also burial places. It appears to have been a very common 
custom in this section to bury the dead in the floor, burn the dwelling 
over them, and cover the whole with dirt, the last operation often taking 
place while the embers were yet smouldering. Burial in graves was 
also practiced to a considerable extent. As we approach the Arkansas 
River, moving southward and from thence into Louisiana, the pottery 
shows a decided improvement in character and ornamentation. 

(8) The Gulf district, including the Gulf States east of the Mississippi. 
The works of this section appear to be closely allied to those of the 
Lower Mississippi district, as here we also find the large flat-topped 
pyramidal mounds, enclosing walls, and surrounding ditches and canals. 

The chief differences are to be found in the forms and ornamenta- 
tion of the pottery and modes of burial. 

AS we approach the Mississippi River the distinguishing features 
gradually disappear, although there appears to be a distinet subdis- 
trict in the northern part of Mississippi, and as we enter the Florida 
peninsula a change is observed which appears to indicate a different 
people, but the data so far obtained are not sufficient to enable us to 
outline the subdistricts. 

This districting is to be regarded as a working hypothesis rather than 
as a settled conclusion which will stand the test of future investiga- 
tions. It is more than likely that other subdivisions will be found 
necessary, and that the boundaries of some of the districts given will 
have to be more or less modified ; still, I believe the arrangement will be 
found substantially correct. 

Asa very general and almost universal rule, mounds of the class 
under consideration are more or less conical in form, and are common 
to all sectious where earthworks are known to exist, in fact they form 
almost the only ancient remains of some localities. Often they are iso- 
lated, with no other monuments near them, but more frequently they 
occur in groups or are associated with other works. Squier and Davis 
say ‘they are generally of considerable size, varying from 6 to 80 feet 
in height, but having an average of from 15 to 25 feet.”! 

This is probably true in regard to the mounds explored by these arche- 
ologists in Ohio, but is erroneous if applied generally ; as very many, 
evidently used and intended as burying places only, are but two or three 
feet high, and so far as the more recent examinations made in other 
sections — especially the explorations carried on under the Bureau of 
E eeu olaeyy —have shown, tumuli of this character are aueually from 3 to 





Neon Nene p- 161. 


THOMAS. | ARCHAOLOGICAL DISTRICTS. 13 


10 feet high, though some, it is true, are of much larger dimensions; 
but these are the exceptions and not the rule.! 

As the authors just alluded to are so frequently referred to by writers; 
and their statements in reference to the works explored by them are 
taken as of general application, I will venture to correct another state-. 
ment made by them in regard to mounds of this character. They assert 
that “‘ these mounds invariably cover a single skeleton (in very rare in- 
stances more than one, as in the case of the Grave Creek mound), 
which, at the time of its interment, was enveloped in bark or coarse 
matting or enclosed in a rude sarcophagus of timber, the traces, in 
some instances the very casts, of which remain. Occasionally the cham- 
ber of the dead is built of stone rudely laid up, without cement of any 
kind.’” 

I have investigated but few of the ancient works of Ohio personally, 
or through the assistants of the Bureau, hence I can only speak in regard 
to them from what has been published and from communications re- 
ceived, but judging from these, Messrs. Squier and Davis, while no doubt 
correctly describing the mounds explored by them, have been too hasty 
in drawing general conclusions. 

That burial mounds in the northern sections very frequently cover 
but a single skeleton is true, but that this, even in this section, is uni- 
versally true or that it is the general rule is a mistake, as will appear 
from what is shown hereafter. Nor will it apply as a rule to those of the 
southern sections. 

To illustrate the character and construction of these mounds, and 
modes of burial in them, I will introduce here brief descriptions of the 
leading types found in the different northern districts heretofore men- 
tioned, confining myself chiefly to the explorations made by the Bureau 
assistants. 








'Ttis somewhat strange that Rey. J. P. MacLean, who has long resided in Ohio and 
has studied the mounds and other works of the southern portion of that State with 
much care, should follow almost word for word this and the next statement of Squier 
and Davis (Mound-Builders, p. 50) and adopt them as his own, without modification or 
protest, when in the appendix containing his exceedingly valuable notes on the ‘‘Ar- 
cheology of Butler County” nearly all the facts given bearing on these points show 
them to be incorrect. 

2 Ancient Monuments, p. 161. 


BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE WISCONSIN DISTRICT. 


Following the order of the geographical districts heretofore given, we 
commence with the Wisconsin section, or region of the effigy mounds. 

As a general rule the burial mounds in this area are comparatively 
small, seldom exceeding 10 feet in height and generally ranging from 3 
to 6 feet. In all cases these belong to that class of works usually de- 
nominated ‘simple conical tumuli.” 

Of the methods of construction and modes of burial there appear to 
be some two or three types, though not so different as necessarily to in- 
dicate different tribes or peoples. One of these is well represented in 
the following extract from Dr. I. A. Lapham’s work describing some 
mounds opened by Dr. Hoy, near Racine: 


We excavated fourteen of the mounds, some with the greatest possible care. They 
are all sepulchral, of a uniform construction as represented in Fig. 1 [our Fig. 1.] 

























































































—=- 
eee 





Fic. 1.—Section of mound near Racine, Wisconsin. 


Most of them contained more than one skeleton ; in one instance we found no less than 
seven. We could detect no appearance of stratification, each mound haying been 
built at one time and not by successive additions. During the investigations we 
obtained sufficient evidence to warrant me in the following conclusions. The bodies 
were regularly buried in a sitting or partly kneeling posture facing the east, with 
the legs placed under them. They were covered with a bark or log roofing over which 
the mound was built. ! 


In these a basin-shaped excavation some 2 or 3 feet deep was first 
made in the soil in which the bodies were deposited, as shown in Fig. 1. 
Mr. Middleton, one of the Bureau assistants, in 1883, opened quite a 
number of small burial mounds in Crawford and Vernon counties, be- 





‘Antiquities of Wisconsin, p. 9. 
14 


Taomas.| BURIAL MOUNDS OF VERNON COUNTY, WISCONSIN. 15 


longing to the same type as those just described ; some with the exca- 
vation in the original soil in which the skeletons were deposited, though 
in others there were no such excavations, the skeletons being deposited 
on the original surface or at various depths in the mounds. I give here 
descriptions of a few of them from his notes : 

The one numbered 16, of the Courtois group, is about 20 feet in diam- 
eter, and at present scarcely more than 1 foot high, the ground having 
been in cultivation for several years and the mound considerably low- 
ered by the plow. A vertical section is given in Fig. 2, a a, indi- 





Fic. 2.—Section of burial mound, Vernon County, Wisconsin. 


cating the natural surface of the ground, b the part of the mound re- 
moved, and ¢ the original cireular excavation in the natural soil to the 
depth of 2 feet. 

Four skeletons were found in this excavation, two side by side near 
the center, with heads south, faces up, one near the north margin with 
head west, and the other on the south side with head east, all stretched 
at full length. 

In another mound of the same group with a similar excavation noth- 
ing save a single skull was found. In another of exactly the same kind 
some of the skeletons were folded, while others were extended at full 
length. 

In all these cases, and in a majority of the small burial mounds opened 
in this western part of the State, there was no stratification ; still there 
were found some exceptions to this rule. 

Vestiges of art were comparatively rare in them, yet here and there 
were found an arrow-point, a chipped flint scraper or celt—in some in- 
stances remarkably fine specimens —a few large copper gorgets, evi- 
dently hammered from native copper, copper beads, etc. Very few ves- 
sels of pottery were obtained from them, but one was discovered, shown 
in Fig. 3, which I believe is of the finest quality of this ware so far 
obtained from the mounds of the United States. There were intrusive 
burials in a few of these mounds, but these have been wholly omitted 
from consideration in the descriptions given. 

In a few instances the mounds seem to have been built solely for the 
purpose of covering a confused mass of human bones gathered together 
after the flesh had disappeared or had been removed. Similar mounds 


16 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 


are described by Mr. Thomas Armstrong as found near Ripon, Fond du 
Lac County. Speaking of these, Mr. Armstrong says: 

As to how these bones came to be placed in these mounds, we can of course only 
conjecture; but from their want of arrangement, from the lack of ornaments and im- 
plements, and from their having been placed on the original surface, we are inclined 
to believe that the dry bones were gathered together — those in the large mounds first 
and those in the smaller ones afterwards — and placed in loose piles on the ground and 
the earth heaped over them until the mounds were formed.! 

There can be no doubt that the bones in this case were gathered up 
from other temporary burial places or depositories, as was the custom 
of several tribes of Indians. 





Fig. 3.—Earthen pot from Wisconsin mound. 


A number of burial mounds opened by Mr. W. G. Anderson, near 
Madison, were found to be of the same general type as those mentioned 
by Mr. Middleton. These he describes as being very low and poorly 
made. Eight were opened, all having been built in the same way, with 
only one layer of black earth, so hard as to make the work of exca- 
yation exceedingly laborious. These were circular, and about 4 feet 
high. Skeletons were found as near as 12 or 13 inches to the surface, 
but badly decayed. There were no sarcophagi or coffins, and in all 
cases the heads pointed towards the west.? 


‘Smithsonian Report 1879, p. 337. 
2Smithsonian Report 1879, p. 343. 


THomas:] BURIAL MOUNDS OF CRAWFORD COUNTY, WISCONSIN. 17 


In some instances the mound contained a circular stone wall, within 
which a pit had been dug to the depth of 2 or 3 feet in the original 
soil, as, for example, the one near Waukesha, described by Dr. Lapham.! 

A mound in Crawford County, opened by Colonel Norris, one of the 
Bureau assistants, in 1882, shows a similar vault or pit, but differs from 
the preceding in being distinctly stratified and wanting the stone wall. 
The construction of this tumulus and the mode of burial in it were as 
follows: 

Proceeding from the top downwards, there was first a layer of soil 
and sand about 1 foot thick; next, nearly 2 feet in depth of calcined 
human bones, without order, mingled with which were charcoal, ashes, 
and a reddish-brown mortar-like substance, burned as hard as pavement 
brick. This layer is numbered 4 in the annexed cut (Fig. 4), which 








neY 
mages 


es rae OT EER ae BS 
VEER BOR, SO NRK 
res S NS % <> > S 

SSR NER RES 


Fic. 4.—Section of burial mound, Crawford County, Wisconsin. 


represents a vertical section of the mound. Immediately below this 
was a layer about 1 foot thick (No. 3) of clay gr mortar mixed with sand, 
burned to a brick-red color. Below this, in the space marked 2 in the 

cut, were found the bones of fifteen or twenty individuals, in a confused 
heap, without order or arrangement. Mingled with these were fire- 
brands, charcoal, and ashes. The bones were charred, some of them to 
charcoal, and some were glazed with melted sand. The mars appears 
to have been first covered with soft clay-mortar, which ran into and 
filled the spaces, and the burning to have been done afterwards by means 
of brush or wood heaped on the top, as among the bones were lumps of 
hard burned clay. 

The bottom of this layer corresponded with the original surface of 
the ground, but’ the excavation being continued, a circular vault or pit, 
6 feet in diameter, was found extending downwards, with perpendicular 
sides, to the depth of nearly 3 feet. The bottom of this pit was covered 
to the depth of an inch with fine chocolate-colored dust. Although the 
filling of this pit was chiefly sand, there was a cavity at the bottom a 
foot high in the center, over which the sand filling was arched as shown 
in the figure. 





1 Antiquities of Wisconsin, p. 28. 
9 


aad 


5 ETH 





18 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 


It is evident that the skeletons in this mound were buried after the 
flesh had been removed, as we can on no other supposition explain the 
fact that the clay or mortar had filled the interstices between the bones, 
and that in some cases it had even penetrated into the skulls. 

Another mound, opened by Colonel Norris in the same neighborhood, 
presented some peculiarities worthy of notice, although not sufficient 
to mark it as belonging to a distinet type. 

According to his report, the southern portion had previously been ex- 
plored by Judge Branson, who found at the base some six or eight skele- 
tons lying stretched out horizontally, and covered by a dry, light-colored 
mortar which must have been spread over them while in a soft condi- 
tion, as it had run between the bones and encased them, and in some 
cases, aS in the mound just described, filled the skulls. As only the 
southern portion had been opened he removed the remainder. The dried 
mortar-like substance was very hard and difficult to dig through, but the 
pick soon struck some rough, flat limestone rocks which proved to be 
parts of a rude wall about 3 feet high and 8 feet long, built on the nat- 
ural surface of the ground. In the opposite side of the mound, 12 feet 
distant from and parallel with it, was another similar wall. Between 
them and on the natural surface of the ground, side by side, were a 
number of skeletons lying flat and lengthwise and parallel with the 
walls. A vertical section of this mound is shown in Fig. 5. The lit- 





Fic. 5.—Section of burial mound, Crawford County, Wisconsin. 


tle circles at the bottom between the walls indicate the heads of the 
skeletons; No. 4, the layer of mortar over the bones; 3, a layer of hard 
clay mixed with ashes; 2, a layer of clay; and 1, the top covering of 
sand and soil about 18 inches thick. Before being disturbed this mound 
was 39 feet in diameter and 6 feet high. 

As it is evident that the burials in this case were made at one time, 
aud as the mortar-like substance had run into the interstices, it is more 
than probable that the skeletons were deposited after the flesh had been 
removed. 

The following description of a mound with a single original and sev- 
eral intrusive burials is also taken from Colonel Norris’ notes of work 
in Crawford County: 

One large mound of this group, 70 feet in diameter and 10 feet high, 
still unexplored, was opened. It had been considerably defaced, espe- 
cially on the west side. According to tradition it was a noted burial 
place with the Indians, which was certainly confirmed by the result. 


ee. 


THOMAS. } MOUNDS OF SHEBOYGAN COUNTY, WISCONSIN. 19 


The surface or top layer was composed of sand and alluvial earth to the 
depth of some 3 or 4 feet. Scattered through this in almost every part 
of the mound were human skeletons in various stages of decay and in 
different positions, but mostly stretched horizontally on the back. Seat- 
tered among the remains were numerous fragments of blankets, cloth- 
ing and human hair, 1 copper kettle of modern pattern, 3 copper 
bracelets (hammered from native copper), 1 silver locket, 10 silver brace- 
lets (one having the name ‘“ Montreal,” and another the letters “A B” 
stamped on it), 2 silver earrings, 6 silver brooches, 1 copper finger-ring, 
1 double silver cross, 1 knife-handle, and 1 battered bullet. In fact 
the top layer to the depth of 3 or 4 feet seemed to be packed as full of 
skeletons and relics as possible. 

Carrying the trench down to the original surface of the ground, he 
found at the bottom, near the center, a single skeleton of an adult in 
the last stages of decay. With it were the following articles: 2 stone 
scrapers, a small stone drill, fragments of river shells, and pieces of a 
mammoth tusk. The earth below the upper layer was mixed with clay 
and ashes, evidently different from the surrounding soil. 

Several mounds opened by him in Grant County contained charred 
human bones, and one or two covered confused masses of bones, being 
similar in this respect to some of those heretofore mentioned. 

A mound which he opened in Sheboygan County, containing a single 
skeleton, is described as about 50 feet in diameter and 5 feet high. 
After passing through 18 inches of surface soil, the central mass, com- 
posed of earth mingled with charcoal, ashes, and loose stones, was 
reached. Near the center of this mass, and at the bottom of the mound, 
a large human skeleton was discovered, apparently holding between 
the hands and knees a large clay vase. Immediately over this skele- 
ton was an irregular layer of flat bowlders. 

Another mound of this group, about the same size as the preceding, 
was found literally filled with skeletons to the depth of 25 feet, evi- 
dently intrusive burials, as they were accompanied with iron imple- 
ments, silver ornaments, etc. Beneath these was a layer of rounded 
drift bowlders aggregating several wagon loads. Below these and ina 
shallow excavation in the natural surface of the ground were some 
forty or more skeletons in a sitting or squatting posture, disposed in 
zircles around and facing the central space, which was occupied by an 
unusually large shell (Busycon perversum). 

It is worthy of notice in this connection that there are no effigy mounds, 
so far as known, in the immediate section where the two works just 
mentioned are situated, but there is near by. one small oval enclosure 
about 50 feet in diameter. 

In studying the burial mounds of the district now under considera- 
tion, of which the foregoing may be considered as types, there appears 
to be no marked distinetion between the intrusive burials of modern 
Indians and the original burials for which the mounds were constructed. 


20, BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 


In both we observe from one to many skeletons in a place; in both we 
find them stretched out horizontally and also folded; in both we some- 
times notice evidences of fire and partially-consumed bones; in both we 
find instances where the mortar-like covering has been used, and in both 
we meet occasionally with those confused masses of bones which seem 
to have been gathered from graves or other temporary burial places 
into these mounds as common depositories. Moreover the transition 
from one to the other is so gradual as to leave us nothing save the 
position in the mound and the presence of vestiges of civilized art to 
distinguish the former from the latter. 

A large portion of these mounds, as has already been stated, are un- 
stratified, and each was probably thrown up and completed at one time; 
yet skeletons are found at various depths in some of these, as, for 
example, one opened by Mr. Middleton, in Vernon County, a vertical 
section of which is shown in Fig. 6, a a indicating the original surface 


f ype 4) 


Fic. 6.—Section of burial mound, Vernon County, Wisconsin. 





of the ground and the stars the positions of the skeletons, some of which 
were stretched out at full length while others were folded. The heads 
were towards different points of the compass and the bones of all were 
so much decayed that none could be preserved. Several instances 
of this kind were observed, in some cases those skeletons near the 
surface or top of the mound indicating burial after contact with the 
whites. 

It is apparent, therefore, that although some of the burial mounds of 
this district must be attributed to the so-called mound-builders, others 
were certainly built by the Indians found inhabiting it at the advent of 
the whites. There can scarcely be a doubt that some of the small un- 
stratified tumuli described are the work of the Indians. If this is con- 
ceded there would seem to be no halting place sliort of attributing all 
of this class in this district to the same race. 

Dr. Hoy’s statement that in some cases there was evidence that the 
bodies had been “covered with a bark or log roofing,” is in exact accord 
with a well-known burial custom of some of the tribes of the Northwest. 

According to Mr, M. B. Kent, the Sacs and Foxes, who formerly re- 
sided in the region now under consideration, buried the body “in a 
grave made about 24 feet deep, which was laid always with the head 
towards the east, the burial taking place as soon after death as possible. 
The grave was prepared by putting bark in the bottom of it before the 
corpse was deposited, a plank covering made and secured some distance 
above the body.” 


THOMAS. ] BURIAL CUSTOMS. ; Zl 


Another method followed by the same people, according to Mr. J. W. 
Spencer,' was to make a shallow hole in the ground, setting the body in 
it up to the waist, so that most of the body was above the ground. <A 
trench was then dug about the graye, in which pickets were planted. 
But the usual method was to place split pieces of wood about three feet 
long over the body, meeting at the top in ‘the form of a roof, on which 
dirt was thrown to keep them in place. 

According to Potherie,? the Iroquois were accustomed to cover the 
bodies, after being deposited in the “fosse,” with bark of trees, on which 
they cast earth and stones. 

According to Schooleraft,* the Mohawks of New York— 
make a large round hole in which the body can be placed upright or upon its haunches: 
which after the body is placed in it is covered with timber to support the earth which 
they lay over, and thereby keep the body from being pressed. They then raise the 
earth in a round hill over it.* 1 

The burial customs of northern tribes, known to have occupied por- 
tions of the effigy mound district, agree so exactly with what we see in 
the sepulchral tumuli of this district as to justify the conclusion reached 
by Dr. Lapham, after a long and careful personal study of them, that 
they are to be attributed to Indians. Some he was rather inclined to 
ascribe to tribes which had migrated, had been driven off by other tribes, 
or been incorporated into them previous to the advent of the white race. 
But he maintained that the subsequent tribes or those found occupy- 
ing the country “continued the practice of mound-building so far as to 
erect a circular or conical tumulus over their dead.” And he adds sig- 
nificantly, “This practice appears to be a remnant of ancient customs 
that connects the mound-builders with the present tribes.” ° 

The evidence in regard to these unstratified mounds appears to lead 
directly to the conclusion that they are all the work of the Indians 
found occupying the country at the time it was first visited by whites or of 
their ancestors. If it is conceded that the smail unstratified tumuli are 
in part the work of these aborigines, there would seem to be no escape 
from the conclusion that all the burial mounds of this district are to be 
ascribed to them; for, although there are some two or three types of 
burial and burial mounds, the gradation from one to the other is so 
complete as to leave no marked line of distinction, and Dr. Lapham is 
fully justified in asserting that the evidence connects the mound-build- 
ers with the modern Indians. The stratified mounds in which the hard 
clay or mortar covering over the remains is found, and which we shall 





1 Pioneer Life. 

2 Potherie, Histoire de Amérique Septentrionale, IT, p. 43. 

3 History of Indian Tribes of the United States, Part IIT, p. 193. 

4As Dr. Yarrow has described the burial customs of the North American Indians in 
the first Annual Report of the Bureau, I will omit further quotations and refer the 
reader to his paper. 

5 Antiquities of Wisconsin, p. 89. 


22 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 


again meet with in the adjoining district, may be the work of different 
tribes from those which constructed the small unstratified tumuli, but 
the distinctions between the two classes are not such as to justify the 
belief that they are to be attributed to a different race or to a people 
occupying a higher or widely different culture-status. 

Having reached this conclusion it is impossible for us to halt here ; 
we are compelled to take one step farther in the same direction and 
ascribe the singular structures known as “ effigy mounds” to the same 
people. The two classes of work are too intimately connected to admit 
of the supposition that the effigy mounds were built by one race or peo- 
ple, and the conical tumuli by another. We might as well assume that 
the enclosures of Ohio were the work of one people, but the mounds 
accompanying them of another. 

That works of different tribes or nations may frequently be found in- 
termingled on areas over which successive waves of population have 
passed is admitted, but that one part of what is clearly a system is to 
be attributed to one people and the other part to another people is a 
hypothesis unworthy of serious consideration, The only possible expla- 
nations of the origin, object, or meaning of these singular structures 
are based, whether confessedly so or not, on the theory that they are 
of Indian origin. Remove the Indian element from the problem ana 
we are left without even the shadow of an hypothesis. 

The fact that the effigy mounds were not used as places of sepulture, 
and that no cemeteries save the burial mounds are found in connection 
with them, is almost conclusive preof that the two, as a rule, must be at- 


tributed to the same people, that they belong to one system. If this’ 


conclusion is considered legitimate, it will lend much aid to the study 
of these works. It is true it is not new, but it has been generally ig- 
nored, and hence could not aid in working out results. ; 

The following extract from Dr. Lapham’s “Antiquities of Wisconsin ” 
will not be considered inappropriate at this point:! 


The ancient works in Wisconsin are mostly at the very places selected by the pres- 
ent Indians for their abodes, thus indicating that the habits, wants, modes of sub- 
sistence, &c., of their builders were essentially the same. 

If the present tribes have no traditions running back as far as the time of Allouez 
and Marquette, or even to the more recent time of Jonathan Carver, it is not strange 
that none should exist in regard to the mounds, which must be of much earlier date, 

It is by considerations of this nature that we are led to the conclusion that the 
mound-builders of Wisconsin were none others than the ancestors of the present tribes 
of Indians. : - 

There is some evidence of a greater prevalence than at present of prairie or culti- 
vated land in this State at no very remote age. The largest trees are probably not 
more than five hundred years old, and large tracts of land are now covered with for- 
ests of young trees where there are no traces of an antecedent growth. Every year 
the high winds prostrate great numbers of trees and frequent storms pass through the 
forest, throwing down nearly everything before them. Trees are left with a portion 
of the roots still in the ground, so as to keep them alive for several years after their 











1 Pp. 90-92. 





THOMAS. ] DR. LAPHAM’S CONCLUSIONS. Zo 


prostration. These “ wind-falls” are of frequent occurrence in the depths of the for- 
ests and occasion much difficulty in making the public surveys. The straight lines 
of the sections frequently encounter them. 

The amount of earth adhering to the roots of a tree when prostrated by the wind 
is, under favorable circumstances, very considerable, and upon their decay forms an 
oblong mound of greater or less magnitude, and a slight depression is left where the 
tree stood. These little hillocks are often by the inexperienced mistaken for Indian 
graves. From the paucity of these little ‘‘tree-mounds” we infer that no very great 
antiquity can be assigned to the dense forests of Wisconsin ; for, during a long period 
of time, with no material change of climate, we would expect to find great numbers of 
these little monuments of ancient storms scattered everywhere over the ground. 

Whether the greater extent of treeless country in former times was owing to nat- 
ural or artificial causes it is now difficult to determine, but the great extent of an- 
cient works within the depths of the present forests would seem to indicate that the 
country was at least kept free from trees by the agency of man. 

Many of these tree-mounds were observed on and about the ancient works. 

Another curious circumstance that may be noticed by inspection of the figures of 
mounds accompanying this work is the gradual transition, as it were, or change of 
one form into another, Examples can be found of all forms, from a true circle through 
the oval and elongated oval to the oblong mounds and long ridges. Again, there is 
a succession of mounds, from the simple ridge of considerable size at ene end and 
gradually diminishing to a point at the other, through the intermediate forms, having 
one, two, three, or four projections to the ‘‘turtle-form.” In this way, also, we may 
trace a gradual development (so to speak) of nearly all the more complicated forms. 

It is not pretended to assert that this was the order in which the mounds were 
erected; or that the aborigines gradually acquired the art by successive essays or les- 
sons. Indeed, we are led to believe that the more complicated forms are the most 
ancient. 

The relative ages of the different works in Wisconsin, so far as they can be ascer- 
tained from the facts now before us, are probably about as follows: 

First and oldest. The animal forms, and the great works at Aztalan. 

Second. The conical mounds built for sepulchral purposes, which come dewn to a 
very recent period. 

Third. The indications of garden-beds planted in regular geometrical figures or 
straight lines. 

Fourth. The plantations of the present tribes, who plant without system or regu- 
larity. 

Thus the taste for regular forms and ar-angements, and the habits of construction 
with earthy materials seems to have been gradually lost, until all traces of them dis- 
appear in our modern degenerate red men. 

The animal-shaped mounds and accompanying oblongs and ridges, constituting 
the first of the above series, are composed of whitish clay or of the subsoil of the 
country. 

The mounds of the second series, or burial mounds, are usually composed of black 
mould or loam, promiscuously intermixed with the lighter-colored subsoil. 


BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE ILLINOIS OR UPPER MISSISSIPPI DIS- 
TRICT. 


This district, as heretofore stated, includes eastern Iowa, north- 
eastern Missouri, and northern and central Illinois as far south as the 
mouth of the Illinois River. 

Although we are justified in concluding that this area was occupied 
during the mound-building age by tribes different from those residing 
in the Wisconsin district. yet the distinguishing characteristics are more 
apparent in the forms of the works than in the modes of burial and in- 
ternal construction of the burial mounds. We shall see by the illustra- 
tions hereafter given that at least one of the types found in one district 
is common in the other. But this is to be expected and is readily ex- 
plained by the supposition that the tribes which have occupied these re- 
gions moyed back and forth, thus one after another coming upon the 
same area. The absence of evidence of such movements would indicate 
that the mound-building period was of comparatively short duration, a 
theory which I believe has not been adopted by any authority, but to 
which I shall have occasion again to refer. One class of the burial mounds 
of this district is well represented in a group, explored by the members 
of the Davenport Academy of Natural Sciences, on the Cook farm, near 
Davenport, Iowa. The mounds of this group are situated on the imme- 
diate bank of the Mississippi at a height not exceeding 8 to 12 feet above 
high-water mark; they are conical in form and of comparatively small 
size, varying in height from 3 to 8 feet. Nine of them were opened, of 
which we notice the following: 

In No. 1 the layers from above down were, first, a foot of earth; then 
a layer of stones 14 feet thick; then a layer of shells 2 inches thick; 





Fic. 7.—Section of burial mound, Davenport, Iowa. [From the Proceedings of the Davenport Acad- 
emy of Sciences. ] 

next a foot of earth, and lastly a second layer of shells 4 inches thick. 

Immediately under this, at the depth of 5 feet, were found five skeletons 

stretched horizontally on the original surface of the ground, parallel to 


each other, three with heads toward the east and two with heads west. 
24 





THOMAS.] BURIAL MOUNDS, DAVENPORT, IOWA. 25 


With them were found one sea-shell (Busycon perversum), two copper 
axes, to which fragments of cloth were attached, one copper awl, an 
arrow-head, and two store pipes, one representing a frog. 

Mornd No. 2, though similar in form and external appearance to the 
preceding, presented a quite different arrangement internally, as is evi- 
dent from the vertical section shown in Fig. 7. Here there were no 
layers of shells, but two distinct layers of stones. At the depth of 
5 feet eight skulls (five only are shown in the figure), with some frag- 
ments of bones were unearthed; these were lying in a semicircle of 5 
feet diameter, each surrounded by a circle of small stones (shown at a 
in the figure). From the position of the skulls and bones it was evident 
these bodies had been buried in a sitting posture. The articles found 
accompanying the skeletons were two copper axes, two small hemi- 
spheres of copper and one of silver, a bear’s tooth, and an arrow-head. 

No. 3, though the largest of the group, was apparently unstratified, 
the original burial consisting of the bones of two adults and one infant, 
at the original surface of the ground, under a thin layer of ashes, and 
surrounded by a single circle of small red stones. With these were 
found copper axes, copper beads, two carved stone pipes (one in the 
form of a ground-hog), animal teeth, etc. Near the surface of the 
mound were two well-preserved skeletons, with evidences of an “ oak- 
wood” covering over them and accompanied by glass beads, a fire steel, 
clay pipe, and silver ear-ring—evidently an intrusive burial. 

No. 4 was found similar in construction and in all other respects to No. 
3, except that at the feet of the skeletons was a round heap of stones, 
3 feet high, neatly laid up, and that in the earth where the skeletons 
lay could be distinetly seen traces of cloth or some woven material, in 
which they had probably been enveloped. 

No. 5 was similar to No. 2, except in the following respects: The 
skeletons (probably two) were in a confused heap at the bottom under 
a G-inch layer of hard clay (probably similar to what Colonel Norris 
calls “‘mortar”). Near these, but outside of the clay layer, was a stone 
heap similar to thatin No.4. ‘On this lay two very strong thigh bones 
and three ribs placed diagonally across each other. There were also 
afew bones leaning against the heap at one side. The stones were 
partly burned to lime, and all of them showed more or less marks of 
fire, while the bones in the mound showed not the slightest trace of it.” 

Four or five feet south of the stone-heap was a large quantity of 
human bones in complete confusion. The relics were broken pots, 
arrow-heads, a stone pipe, ete. 

Nos. 7, 8, and 9 were similar to No. 1, varying only in minor details.' 

My object in noticing the construction of so many mounds in a single 
group and the modes of burial in them, is to call attention to the difter- 
ences in detail where there can be no doubt that they were built by one 
tribe and probably by one clan, as the size of the group indicates a 








1 Proceedings of the Davenport Academy of Sciences, Vol. I, pp. 118-122. 


26 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 


comparatively limited population. In these nine mounds we notice the 
following differences: some are stratified, others not; in some the skele- 
tons are placed horizontally on the ground, in others they are in a sit- 
ting posture, while in others they are dismembered and in confused 
heaps; in some there are altar-like! structures of stone which are want- 
ing in others; in some the skeletons are covered with a hard clay or 
mortar coating which is wanting in most of them, and lastly, we see in 
one or two, evidences of the use of fire in the burial ceremonies, though 
not found in the others. 

In some respects these mounds remind us of some of the stratified 
tumuli of Wisconsin, especially those opened by Colonel Norris in She- 
boygan County, to which they bear a strong resemblance. 

In the latter part of 1882 Colonel Norris examined a group of works 
in Allamakee County, lowa, which presents some peculiarities worthy 
of notice in this connection. 

This group, which is represented in Plate I, consisting of enclosures, 
lines of small mounds, and excavations, is situated on the farm of Mr, 
H. P. Lane, about 7 miles above New Albin. It is on a bluff in one of 
the numerous bends of the Little Iowa River, the character of the 
locality indicating that it was selected as one easily defended. I shall 
at present only notice those particulars which seem to have some bear- 
ing on the character of the burial mounds and mode of interment. 

Although there are no effigy mounds in the group, the relative posi- 
tions and forms of the tumuli, as shown in the figure, and other partic- 
ulars to be noticed, leave no doubt in my mind that the works, in 
part, are to be attributed to the people who built the figure mounds 
of Wisconsin. But, as will be seen from the particulars mentioned, 
there is conclusive evidence that the locality has been occupied at dif- 
ferent times by at least two distinct tribes or peoples, differing widely 
in habits and customs. 

The largest work is an enclosure marked A in Plate I, and shown 
on an enlarged scale in Plate II. It is situated on the margin of 
a bluff overlooking the Little Iowa and an intervening bog-bayou, 
probably the former channel of the river. It is almost exactly cir- 
cular, the curve being broken on the east side, where it touches the 
brink of the bluff, being here made to conform to the line of the lat- 
ter, though probably never thrown up to the same height as the other 
portion. The ends at the southeast overlap each other for a short dis- 
tance, leaving at this point an entrance way, the only one to the en- 
closure. A ditch runs round on the inside from the entrance on the 
south to where the wall strikes the bluff on the north, but is wanting 
along the bluff and overlapping portion. The north and south diam- 
eter, measuring from outside to outside, is 277 feet; from east to west, 


‘T wish it distinctly understood that I do not, by the use of this term, commit my- 
self to the theory that these mounds or any others contain altars in the true sense 
of the term, as I very much doubt it. 


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THOMAS. } ANCIENT WORKS, ALLAMAKEE COUNTY, IOWA. 27 


235 feet; the entire outer circumference is 807 feet, the length of the 
portion along the bluff 100 feet, and of the overlapping portion at the 
entrance 45 feet. The wall is quite uniform in size, about 4 feet high 
and from 25 to 27 in width, except along the bluff, where it is scarcely 
apparent; the entrance is 16 feet wide, and the ditch 5 to 6 feet wide 
and 3 feet deep. On the north, adjoining the wall on the outside and 
extending along it for about 100 feet, is an excavation (c, Plate II) 35 feet 
wide at the widest point and 3 feet deep. 

As this ground, including the circle, has been under cultivation for fif- 
teen years, it would be supposed the height of the wall is considerably 
less than it originally was, but this is probably a mistake. On the con- 
trary, if was originally probably but 20 feet wide and not more than 3 
feet high, composed mainly of yellowish brown clay obtained, in part at 
least, from the ditch, but during oeeupaney the accumulation of count- 
less bones of animals used as food, stone chips, river shells, broken pot- 
tery, and dirt, and, since abandonment, the accumulation of sand drifted 
by the winds from the crumbling sandstone butte (C, Plate I) over- 
looking it, have not only filled the ditch but elevated the wall and 
whole interior area 2 feet or more. This accumulation of sand is so 
great and so uniform over the plateau that fifteen years of cultivation 
have not sufficed to reach the clay of the original surface nor to unearth 
or even penetrate to the bones, pottery fragments, and other refuse 
matter covering the original surface in the circle. 

Trenches cut across the wall at various points indicate, first, a layer of 
sand about 1 foot thick; immediately below this an accumulation of 
refuse matter forming a layer from 1 to 2 feet thick; under which was 
the original clay embankment 2 feet thick, resting on the natural surface 
of the ground. A section of the ditch, embankment, and excavation 
is shown in Plate II. The dotted line a b indicates the natural surface ; 
No. 1 the original clay layer of the wall; No. 2 the layer of earth and 
refuse material with which the ditch is filled; and No. 3 the top layer 
of sand. 

In No. 2 were found charcoal, ashes, fragments of pottery, fractured 
bones, ete. 

A broad belt of the inner area on the east side was explored, and the 
same conditions were found to exist here as were revealed by the trenches 
across the wall and ditch, except that here the shells were more abun- 
dant in layer No. 2, and there were many burnt stones. 

On the southeastern portion of the plateau (B, Plate I) are six nearly 
parallel lines of mounds running northeast and southwest, mostly cir- 
cular in form, varying from 15 to 40 feet in diameter, and from 2 to 
6 feet in height; a few, as indicated in the figure, are oblong, varying 
in length from 50 to 100 feet. The number in the group exceeds one 
hundred. 

While engaged in excavating these mounds Colonel Norris observed 
anumber of patches of the level area quite destitute of vegetation. The 


28 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 


owner of the land, who was present, could give no explanation of this 
phenomenon, simply remarking that they had always been so, never hav- 
ing produced a good crop of anything, although there was no apparent 
difference between the soil of these spots and the surface around them. 
As some of these extended across the area occupied by the mound group, 
he concluded to explore them, and was surprised to find them to be bury- 
ing places, and scattered here and there among the graves, if such 
they could be called, were stone chips, shells, charcoal, and ashes. He 
was surprised at this, as he supposed the mounds alone were used as 
depositories of the dead, and was at first disposed to attribute these 
burials to a people who had occupied the ground long subsequent to the 
authors of the works. Possibly this may be the correct solution, but if 
so, they were certainly the same as those who buried in the mounds of 
this group, as no difference in the contents and internal arrangement 
could be observed. In both cases there was a compact layer of hard, 
light-colored earth, having the appearance of lime-mortar, possi ly clay 
and ashes mixed together, which had been subject to the action of fire. 
As the burials in these sterile spots were seldom more than 18 inches 
deep, the only layer above them consisted of sand from the butte, 
while the mounds were uniformly covered with a layer of richer soil, 
although below this and covering the skeletons was a layer of hard, light- 
colored earth. Skeletons and bones were found in great abundance in 
the mounds and under the surface of the plateau, though none were 
discovered in the circle or nearer than 200 yards of it. They were 
sometimes mingled promiscuously with charcoal and ashes, but were 
usually in whole skeletons lying horizontally, though some were ina 
sitting posture; they were within from 1 to 3 feet of the surface, with- 
out any apparent system, except that they were always covered with 
a layer of hard earth. 

A trench cut through the long mound of this group, No. 1, revealed 
near the center an oblong pile of sandstones, beneath which was found 
a rude stone coffin, formed by first placing flat sandstone slabs on the 
natural surface of the ground, then other slabs at the sides and ends, 
and a covering of similar stones, thus forming a cist or coffin about 6 
feet long and 18inches wide. Within this, extended at full length, with 
the head west, was the skeleton of an adult, but too much decayed for 
preservation. With it were some stone chips, rude stone scrapers, a 
Unio shell, and some fragments of pottery similar to those dug up in 
the circular enclosure. 

The mounds on the sand butte marked C, Plate I, which is something 
over 100 feet high, were opened and found to be in every respect similar 
to those already mentioned, showing them to be the work of the same 
people who built the others. 

The three mounds in the square enclosures marked D, (Plate 
I), were also opened, with the following results: The largest, oval in 
form, 30 feet long, about 20 feet broad and 4 feet high, was found to 


" 


quomas.) ANCIENT WORKS, ALLAMAKEE COUNTY, IOWA. 2g 


consist of a top layer of loose sand 1 foot thick, the remainder of hard 
yellowish clay. In the latter were found several flat sandstone frag- 
ments, and beneath them, on the original surface of the ground, a much 
decayed skeleton, with which were a few stone chips, Unio shells, and 
fragments of pottery. 

The second in size, 18 feet in diameter and 3 feet high, although 
covered with a layer of sand, was mainly a loose cairn of sandstones, 
covering traces of human bones, charcoal, and ashes. The third was 
found to be similar to the second, but in this case the pile of stones 
was heaped over a mass of charred human bones, mingled with which 
were charcoal, ashes, and fragments of pottery. 

Fragments of pottery were found in abundance in the circle, in the 
mounds, in the washouts, and in fact at almost every point in the area 
covered by the group. Judging by the fragments, for not a single 
entire vessel was obtained, the prevailing forms were the ordinary 
earthen pot with ears, and a flask or gourd-shaped vase with a rather 
broad and short neck, often furnished with alid. The paste with which 
this pottery was made had evidently been mixed with pounded shells. 
The only ornamentation observed consisted in the varied forms given 
the handles or ears and indentations and scratched lines. 

Nearly all the implements found were of stone, exceedingly rude, 
being little else than stone flakes with one sharp edge; many of them 
having been resharpened and used as knives, scrapers, and skinners. 
Some had been worked into moderately fair perforators or drills for 
making holes in horn, bone, and shell—specimens of allthese, with such 
holes, having been found here. 

The immense quantity of charred and fractured bones, not only of fish, 
birds, and the smalier quadrupeds, such as the rabbit and the fox, but 
also of the bear, wolf, elk, deer, and buffalo, shows that the occupants of 
this place lived chiefly by the chase, and hence must have used the bow 
and arrow and spear; yet, strange to say, although careful search was 
made for them, less than a dozen arrow an d spear heads were found, 
and these so rude as scarcely to deserve the name. A single true 
chipped celt, three sandstones with mortar-shaped cavities, and a few 
mullers or stones used for grinding were obtained ; also, some fragments 
of deer-horn, evidently cut round by some rude implement and then 
broken off, and several horn and bone punches and awls, one barbed and 
another with a hole through the larger end. 

The object in view in presenting these details is to give the reader an 
opportunity of judging for himself in reference to some inferences drawn 
from them. 

The form of the circular enclosure reminds us at the first glance of 
the palisade enclosures figured by De Bry,! which, according to Lafitau,’ 
was the form usually adopted by the Indian tribes who were accustomed 








‘Brevis Narratio, Plate XXX. Admiranda Narratio, Plate XIX 
°Menrs des Sauvages, II, p. 4. 


30 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 


to erect such structures. We have here the almost exact circle, save 
where interrupted by the margin of the bluff, the overlapping of the 
ends, and the narrow entrance-way. We have here also the clay with 
which it was the custom, at least in the southern section, to plaster the 
palisades or which was cast against their bases as a means of support 
ing or bracing them at the bottom, a custom not entirely unknown 
among the northern tribes in former times. 

The indications are therefore very strong that this enclosing wall was 
originally a palisade which had been in part plastered with clay, or 
against which clay had been heaped to assist in rendering it firm and 
secure, and, if so, then it is probable it was built by Indians. 

Be this supposition right or wrong the evidence is conclusive that the 
area on which this group is situated has been the abode of at least two 
tribes or peoples: first, it was occupied by the authors of the enclosures, 
whose stay was probably not very protracted, and after they had aban- 
doned the locality or been driven from it by a second tribe, evidently 
comparatively numerous, that made it for along time a dwelling place; 
a tribe differing in customs from its predecessor, and one that did not 
rely upon enclosures for protection. By no other supposition can we 
account for the fact that the refuse layer which covers the interior of 
the circle also spreads in equal depth over the ditch and clay remains 
of the enclosing wall, as those who left this refuse layer could have 
made no possible use of the wall as a defensive work, for which the 
position chosen and other particulars show it was designed. 

The form of this enclosure, as we have before intimated, seems to 
connect it with some one of the Indian tribes; its age is uncertain but 
the accumulation of refuse matter and sand since the abandonment by 
the first occupants indicates considerable antiquity. 

Although we cannot say positively that the second occupants were 
the builders of the mounds, as the investigation was not as thorough as 
it should have been, still I think we may assume, with almost absolute 
certainty, that such was the fact. The mounds in the square work 
marked D, in Plate I, present considerable differences from those in 
the group, and are probably the work of those who built the enclos- 
ures. 

The stone grave in the oblong mound indicates the presence of indi- 
viduals of a more southern tribe! at this place, during its second oceu- 
pancy. The position of the cist in the mound would seem to forbid the 
idea of an intrusive burial, otherwise I should certainly suppose such to 
be the fact. I cannot, in the present paper, enter into a discussion of 
the question ‘to what tribe or people are the box-form stone graves to 
be attributed,” but will state my conviction to be, after a somewhat 
careful study of the question, that they are to be ascribed to the 









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THOMAS. ] MOUND CONTAINING VAULT. 31 


Without further discussion of this group, which, as before intimated, 
presents, so far as the mounds are concerned, some features which ap- 
pear to ally the latter to one class of burial mounds found in Wisconsin, 
we will now refer to some other works of this district explored by the 
Bureau assistants. 

On the land owned by Mr. Fish, in Iowa, near the Mississippi River, a 
short distance below where the Little Iowa joins it, is a group of mounds 
placed on the crest of a ridge running parallel with the former stream 
about one-fourth of a mile therefrom. There are in all about thirty of 
these mounds, circular in form, and varying from 20 to 40 feet in diameter. 
These are all burial mounds, but one singular feature observed is that 
those on the higher sandy ground, although about the same size and 
haviug cores of clay similar to those on the firm clay portion of the 
ridge, have a layer of sand, some two feet or more added to them, yet 
when opened the contents and mode of construction of the two classes 
were found to be the same, to wit, a layer of hard clay covering de- 
caying human bones, fragments of pottery, and rude stone implements. 
There were generally two or more skeletons in a mound, which were 
placed horizontally side by side on the natural surface of the ground. 

Upon the terrace below the group were found the remnants of a row 
of comparatively large burial mounds. A railroad line having been 
carried along here, the larger portion of these works were destroyed; 
still, enough remained to show that the height varied fiom 6 to 15 feet, 
that they were composed chiefly of sandy loam similar to that around 
them, and that each had a hard central core of clay mixed with ashes, 
usually covering but a single skeleton. The relics found in them when 
opened consisted chiefly of stone axes, arrow and spear heads, and a 
few copper celts. In one, which was 32 feet in diameter and 8 feet high 
and less injured than the others, was a circular vault, walled as repre- 
sented in Fig. 8. This was built of flat, unworked stones, laid up 


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Fic. 8.—Section of mound showing stone vault (Iowa). 


without mortar, gradually lessening as it ascended, and covered at the 
top by a single flat stone. In it was a single skeleton in a squatting 
posture, with which was a small earthen vase of globular form. 

A singular fact was observed in a group near the town of Peru, 
Dubuque County. This group is situated on a dry, sandy bench or 


32 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 


terrace some 20 feet or more above a bayou which makes out from the 
Mississippi. It consists chiefly of small circular tumuli, but at the 
north end are four oblong mounds varying in length from 40 to 110 feet 
and in height from 14 to 4 feet; there is also an excavation about 30 
feet in diameter and 6 feet deep, and scattered throughout the group 
are a number of circular earthen rings varying in diameter from 12 to 
30 feet and from 1 to 2 feet in height. 

Quite a number of the circular mounds were opened, but only de- 
tached portions of a skeleton were found in any one, as a skull in one, 
and a leg, arm, or other part in another, four or five adjacent ones appar- 
ently together containing the equivalents of an entire skeleton. Some 
of these bones were charred, and all were inuch decayed, indicating by 
their appearance great age. The inner portion of the mounds consisted 
of hard, compact earth, chiefly clay, resembling in this respect most of 
the burial mounds of this region. 

Unfortunately the examination of this group was too partial and too 
hastily made to enable us to form any theory as to the meaning of this 
singular mode of burial, or even to be satisfied that the idea of our 
assistant in this regard is correct. 

As possibly having some bearing upon the question, the following 
facts relating to another similar group at Eagle Point, three miles above 
Dubuque, are given. 

This group, which is situated on a bluff about 50 feet above high- 
water mark, consists of about seventy mounds, all of which, except two 
oblong ones, are small and conical in form. Eleven of these circular 
tumuli were thoroughly explored, but nothing was found in them except 
some charcoal, stone chips, and fragments of pottery. But in an ex- 
cavation made in the center of along mound just west of the group 
were found two decayed skeletons. Near the breast of one of them 
were a blue stone gorget and five rude stone scrapers; with the other, 
thirty-one fresh-water pearls, perforated and used as beads. Exca- 
vations were made in an oblong and circular mound near the extreme 
point of the bluffs. Each was found to have a central core of very 
hard clay mixed with ashes, so hard in fact that it could only be broken 
up with the pick, when it crumbled like dry lime mortar, and was found 
to be traversed throughout with flattened horizontal cavities. These 
cavities were lined with a peculiar felt-like substance, which Colonel 
Norris, who opened the mounds, was satisfied from all the indications 
pertained to bodies which had been buried here, but from lapse of time 
had entirely crumbled to earth save these little fragments. We are 
therefore perhaps justified in concluding that a more thorough and 
eareful examination of the mounds of the other group would have 
shown that the skeletons had so far decayed as to leave but a small 
part in a mound. Nevertheless it is proper to state that Colonel Norris 
does not coincide with this conclusion, but thinks that the dismembered 
skeletons were buried as found. Possibly he is correct. 


THOMAS | INDIAN BURIALS, IOWA. ae 

In this connection, and before referring to the mounds of this district 
on the Illinois side of the Mississippi, I desire to call attention to some 
modern Indian burials in this region. As the statements here made 
are from one claiming to be an eye-witness, I give them as related to 
the Bureau assistant. 

The locality is a level plat in a bend of the Des Moines River between 
Eldon and Iowaville, Wapello County. The plat of this area and the 
sites of the burial places, as shown in Fig. 9, are based upon the state- 







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Fic. 9.—Plat of Indian burying-ground, Wapello County, Iowa. 


ments of Mr. J. H. Jordan (the person referred to), who has resided here 
since the close of the Black Hawk war, and was the agent of the Saes 


and Foxes from their removal hither after the war until Black Hawk’s 
death, September 15, 1838.! 


' According to Drake, ‘Indians of North America,” he died October 3, 1838. 
9) DTW——3 


34 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 


The extreme width of the area represented is about 2 miles. Close 
to the point of the bend formerly stood the agency building, near which 
is the present residence of Mr. Jordan. The triangle marks the position 
of Black Hawk’s grave; the parallel lines, the race-tracks; the rings 
in the upper corner, the mounds of the lowas; those in the lower corner, 
near Iowaville, the mounds of the Pottawattamies; and the open dots, 
near the same point, the place where the scaffolds for their dead stood. 

Mr. Jordan says: ; 

“This valley had long been a famous haunt for the warring Indians, 
but was, at the time of my first personal acquaintance with it, in posses- 
sion of the Iowas, whose main village was around the point where my 
present residence now stands. The race-course consisted of three hard 
beaten parallel tracks nearly a mile in length, where the greater por- 
tion of the Iowa warriors were engaged in sport when Black Hawk sur- 
prised and slaughtered a great portion of them in 1830. After Black 
Hawk and his warriors had departed with their plunder, the remaining 
Towas returned and buried their dead in little mounds of sod and earth, 
from 2 to 4 feet high, at the point indicated on the diagram. 

“After the Black Hawk war was over, the remnant of the Iowas, by 
treaty, formally ceded their rights in this valley to the Sacs and Foxes. 
At this place this noted chief was buried, in accordance with his dying 
request, in a full military suit given him by President Jackson, together 
with the various memorials received by him from the whites and the 
trophies won from the Indians. He was placed on his back on a 
‘puncheon’ {split slab of wood], slanting at a low angle to the ground, 
where his feet were sustained by another, and then covered with several 
inches of sod. Over this was placed a roof-shaped covering of slabs or 
‘puncheons,’ one end being higher than the other; over this was 
thrown a covering of earth and sod to the depth of a foot or more, and 
the whole surrounded by a line of pickets some 8 or 10 feet high.” 

Here we have evidence that some at least of the Indians of this re- 
gion were accustomed to bury their dead in mounds down to a recent 
date. 

One of the most important burial mounds opened in this district by 
the employés of the Bureau is situated on the bluff which overhangs 
East Dubuque (formerly Dunleith), Jo Daviess County, Illinois. AsI 
shall have occasion to refer to others than the one mentioned, I give in 
Fig. 15, Plate III, a plan of the group, and in Fig. 16, same plate, a 
vertical section of the bluff along the line of mounds numbered 13, 14, 
15, 16, and 17, in which is seen the general slope of the upper area. 

The mounds of this group are conical in form, varying from 12 to 70 
feet in diameter and from 3 to 12 in height. All appear to have been 
built for burial purposes. 

In No. 5, the largest of the group, measuring 70 feet in diameter and 
12 feet in height, a skeleton, apparently an intrusive burial, was found 


THOMAS. | MOUNDS AT EAST DUBUQUE, ILLINOIS. 35 


at the depth of 2 feet immediately below the apex. Near the orig- 
inal surface of the ground, several feet north of the center, were the 
much-decayed skeletons of some six or eight individuals of every size 
from the infant to the adult. They were placed horizontally at full 
length with the heads toward the south. A few perforated Unio shells 
and some rude stone skinners and scrapers were found with them. 
Near the original surface, some 10 or 12 feet from the center, on the 
lower side, was discovered, lying at full length on its back, an unusu- 
ally large skeleton, the length being something over 7 feet. It was 
all distinetly traceable though it crumbled to pieces immediately after 
removal from the hard earth in which it was encased. With it were 
three thin, crescent-shaped pieces of roughly-hammered native copper, 
respectively 6, 8, and 10 inches in length, with some small holes along 
the convex margin; also a number of elongate copper beads, made by 
rolling together thin sheets, and a chert lance-head 11 inches long; 
the latter was placed near the left thigh. Around the neck were the 
remains of a necklace of bears’ teeth. Lying across the thighs wére 
dozens of small copper beads, evidently formed by rolling slender wire- 
like strips into small rings. The assistant who opened this mound, 
and who is personally well acquainted with Indian habits and customs, 
suggests that these beads once formed the ornamentation of the fringe 
of a hunting shirt. 

As No. 4 of this group presents some peculiarities, I take the deserip- 
tion from Colonel Norris’s notes: 

During a visit to this locality in 1857, he partially opened this mound, 
finding masses of burned earth and charred human bones mingled with 
charcoal and ashes. At his visit in 1882, on behalf of the Bureau, a 
further examination revealed, on the lower side, the end of a double line 
of flat stones set on edge, about a foot apart at the bottom and leaned 
soas to meet at the top and form a roof-shaped flue or drain. Following 
this up, he found that it extended inward nearly on a level, almost to 
the center of the mound, at which point it was nearly 3 feet below 
the original surface of the ground. Here a skeleton was discovered 
stretched horizontally in a yault or grave which had been dug in the 
ground before the mound was cast up. Over that portion below the 
waist (including the right arm) were placed flat stones so arranged as 
to support one another and prevent pressure on the body, but no traces 
of fire were on them; yet, when the upper portions of the body were 
reached, they were found so burned and charred as to be scarcely trace- 
able amid the charcoal and ashes that surrounded them. 

It was apparent that a grave had first been dug, then the right arn» 
had been dislocated and placed by the side of the skeleton below the: 
waist, and this part covered with stones as described, and then the re- 
mainder burned by a fire kindled over it. 

A section of the mound showing the grave and stone drain is given. 


36 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 


in Fig. 10, in which 1 is the outline of the mound on the hill slope; 2, 
the pit; and 3, the stones of the drain. 

No. 13 was found to contain a circle or enclosure, 10 feet in diameter, 
of stone slabs set on edge at the natural surface of the ground. With- 
in this circle, but some 2 feet below the surface, were five skeletons : 
two adults, two children, and one infant. They were all lying hori- 
zontally, side by side, with heads south, the adults at the outside and 
the children between them. 

We are reminded by the mode of burial in this case of that in the 
mound opened by Dr. Lapham at Waukesha, Wisconsin, before referred 
to. In that the remains of a single individual were discovered, but in 
this it would seem that the skeletons of an entire family, gathered 
from their temporary resting places, had been carefully buried side by 
side, a silent testimonial to parental love and aftection of friends among 
the mound-bnilders. 


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Fic. 10.—Section of mound 4, East Dubuque, Illinois. 


No. 1, 6 feet high and 45 feet in diameter, was found to be an ossuary. 
Beneath the top layer was an arched stratum of clay and ashes mixed, 
so firm and hard as to retain its form unsupported over a space of 
several feet. This covered a confused heap of human bones, many of 
which were badly decayed. 

The marked feature of the group was found in No. 16, a remarkably 
symmetrical mound 65 feet in diameter and 10 feet high. After pass- 
ing downward 6 feet, mostly through a hard gray layer, a vault partly 
of timber and partly of stone was reached. <A vertical section of the 
mound and vault is shown in Fig. 11, and the ground plan of the vault 
in Fig. 12. 

This vault or crypt was found to be rectangular in form, inside 
measurements showing it to be 15 feet long and 7 feet wide, surrounded 
by a sandstone wall 3 feet high. Three feet from each end was a cross- 
wall or partition of like character, thus forming a main central chamber 
7 feet square, and a narrow chamber or cell at each end something 
over 2 feet wide and 7 feet long. The whole had been completely coy- 
ered with a layer of logs from 6 to 12 inches in diameter, their ends 
reaching slightly beyond the side walls in the manner shown in Fig. 12. 





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THOMAS. ] MOUNDS AT EAST DUBUQUE, ILLINOIS. 37 


In the center chamber were found eleven skeletons: six adults and five 
children of different ages, including one infant, the latter evidently 
buried in the arms of one of the adults, possibly its mother. Appar- 
ently they had all been buried at one time, arranged in a circle, in a 
squatting or sitting posture, against the walls. In the center of the 
space around which they were grouped was a fine specimen of Busycon 
perversum, which had been converted into a drinking-cup by removing 
the columella, Here were also numerous fragments of pottery. 








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iii lh 
f cee i 
oe 


ee mi at 


Fic. 11.—Section of mound 16 (P). 111) showing vault. 


Soe eee 
F area, 


wits: if 
in \, iy ies 
a>) i 


Tic. 12.—Plan of yault, mound 16 (P). TIT). 


The end cells, walled off from the main portion, as heretofore stated, 
were found nearly filled with a very fine chocolate-colored dust, which 
gave out such a sickening odor that the workmen were compelled to 
stop operations for the day in order to allow it to escape. 

The covering of the vault was of oak logs, most of which had been 
peeled and some of the larger ones somewhat squared by slabbing off 
the sides; and the slabs and bark thus removed, together with reeds 
or large grass stems, had been laid over them. Over the whole was 
spread layer after layer of mortar containing lime, each succeeding 
layer harder and thicker than that which preceded it, a foot or so of 
ordinary soil completing the mound. 

As there can be scarcely a doubt that the mounds of this group were 
built by one tribe, we have here additional evidence that the same 

“people were accustomed to bury their dead in various ways. Some of 
the skeletons are found lying horizontally side by side, others are 
placed in a circle in a sitting or squatting posture, while in another 
mound we find the dismembered bones heaped in a confused mass. In 
one place is a single huge frame decked with the ornaments of savage 


38 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 


life, while in ether places we see the members of a family lying side 
by side, and in others the bones, possibly of the ordinary people, heaped 
together in a common ossuary. 

The timber-covered vault in mound No. 16 calls to mind very vividly 
the similar vaults mentioned by Squier and Davis,' found in the valley 
of the Scioto in Ohio. In the latter the walls as well as the covering 
were of logs, instead of stone, but the adaptation to circumstances 
may, perhaps, form a sufficient explanation of this difference. While 
there are several very marked distinctions between the Ohio works 
and those of the district now under consideration, there are also some 
resemblances, as we shall see as we proceed, which cannot be over- 
looked, and which seem to indicate relationship, contact, or intercourse 
between the people who were the authors of these different structures. 

In additional support of this view, I call attention to the carved 
pipes found by members of the Davenport Academy of Natural Sciences, 




















Fic. 13.—Pipe from Illinois mound. 


(After Smithsonian Report.) 











Fic. 14.—Pipe from Mlinois mound, 4. Fic. 15.—Pipe from Illinois mound, 4. 
(After Smithsonian Report.) (After Smithsonian Report.) 


in the mounds near Davenport, Iowa, already referred to, which are 
represented on Plates IV and XXXIV of Vol. I of the Proceedings 
of that society, and to others obtained by Judge J. G. Henderson 





‘Ancient Monnments, p. 162. 


THOMAS. ] MOUNDS NEAR NAPLES, ILLINOIS. 39 


from some mounds near Naples, Illinois, and described in the Smith- 
sonian Report for 18582. The latter are shown in Figs. 13, 14, and 15. 
The relation of these to the pipes found in the Ohio works by Squier 
and Davis is too apparent to be attributed to accident, and forces us to 
the conclusion that there was intercourse of some kind between the 
two peoples, and hence that the works of the two localities are rela- 
tively of the same age. 

The mode of burial in one of the mounds near Naples is so sug- 
gestive in this connection that I quote here Judge Henderson's de- 
scription : 

The oval mound No. 1 was explored in April, 1881, by beginning a trench at the 
north end and carrying it to the original surface and through to the south end. 
Lateral trenches were opened at intervals, and from these and the main one a coin- 
plete exploration was made by tunneling. 

Near the center of the mound a single skeleton was found in a sitting position, and 
no objects were about it except a single sea-shell resting on the earth just over the head, 
anda nnmber of the bone awls, already described, sticking in the sand around the skeleton. 
The individual had been seated upon the sand, these awls stuck around him in a 
circle 4 or 5 inches in the sand, and the work of carrying dirt begun, 

When the mound had been elevated about 6 inches above the head the shell was 
laid on and the work continued. 

The shell alluded to is a fine specimen of Busycon perversum, with the 
columella removed in order to form a drinking cup. 

The particular point to which I call attention is this: In Plate XI, 
Part Il of De Bry,! which is reproduced in the annexed Plate IV, is 
represented a yery small mound, on the top of which is a large shell, 
and about the base a circle of arrows sticking in the ground. The 
artist, Le Moyne de Morgues, remarks, in reference to it, ‘‘ Sometimes 
the deceased king of this province is buried with great solemnity, and 
his great eup from which he was accustomed to drink is placed on a 
tumulus with many arrows set about it.” The tumulus in this case is 
evidently very small, and, as remarked by Dr. Brinton,? “scarcely rises 
to the dignity of a mound.” Yet it will correspond in size with what 
the Naples mound was when the shell was placed upon it; nevertheless 
the latter, when completed, formed an oval tumulus 132 feet long, 98 feet 
wide, and 10 feet high. 

It is therefore quite probable that Le Moyue figures the mound at 
the time it reached the point where the shell cup was to be deposited, 
when, in all likelihood, certain ceremonies were to be observed and a 
pause in the work occurred. Whether this suggestion be correct or not, 
the cut and the statement of Judge Henderson furnish some evidence 
in regard to the presence of these articles in the mounds, and point to 
the people by whom they were placed there. 

Colonel Norris opened a number of the ordinary small burial mounds 
found on the bluffs and higher grounds of Pike and Brown Counties, 





! Brevis Narratio, Tab. XI. 
2 American Antiquarian, October, 1881, p. 14. 


40 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 


Illinois, which were found to be constructed in the usual method of this 
district; that is, with a layer of hard, mortar-like substance, or clay 
and ashes mixed, covering the skeletons. The positions of the skele- 
tons varied, as we have seen is the case in other localities. The num- 





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Tic. 16.— Group of mounds and hut-rings, Brown County, Illinois. 







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ber of intrusive burials was unusually large here. In a number of 
cases where there were intrusive burials near the surface, no bones, or 
but the slightest fragments of the bones of the original burial, could be 
found, although there were sure indications that the mounds were built 


i 


NNOW V 











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AW j | 




































































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Tuomas.) THE WELCH MOUNDS, BROWN COUNTY, ILLINOIS. 


and had apparently been used for this purpose. 


41 


These mounds also 


present evidence of the intrusion of an element from one people into 
the country of another. On the farm of Mr. Edward Welch, Brown 
County, Illinois, is the group of mounds shown in Fig. 16. This con- 


sists of conical and pyramidal mounds, 
and the small earthen rings designated 
house sites. The form of the larger 
mounds is shown in Fig. 17. Although 
standing on a bluff some 200 feet above 
the river bottom, it is evident at the first 
glance that these works belong to the 
southern type and were built by the people 
who erected those of the Cahokia group or 
farther south. No opportunity was allowed 
to investigate the burial mounds or house 
sites, but slight explorations made in the 
larger mounds sufficed to reveal the fire- 
beds so common in southern mounds, thus 
confirming the impression given by their 
form. It is probable that these mark the 
point of the extreme northern extension of 
the southern mound-building tribes. A 
colony, probably from the numerous and 
strong tribe located on Cahokia Creek 
around the giant Monk’s mound, pushed 
its way thus far and formed a settlement, 
but, after contending for a time with the 
hostile tribes which pressed upon it from 
the north, was compelled to return towards 
the south. 

Passing to the northeastern portion of 
Missouri, which, as heretofore stated, we 
include in the North Mississippi or Illinois 
district, we find a material change in the 
character of the burial mounds, so marked, 
in fact, that it is very doubtful whether 
they should be embraced in the distriet 
named. Although differing in minor par- 
ticulars, the custom of inclosing the re- 
mains of the dead in some kind of a recep- 
tacle of stone, over which was heaped the 
earth forming the mound, appears to have 
prevailed very generally. 


LT “OL 


‘OL “Sy UL UAOYS dnous a9 Jo spunont z9savy Jo suo \y 














The region has been but partially explored, yet it is probable the fol- 
lowing examples will furnish illustrations of most of the types to be 


found in it. 


42 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 


From an article by Messrs. Hardy and Scheetz in the Smithsonian 
Report for 1881,! we learn the following particulars regarding the 
burial mounds of Ralls County : 

Oceasionally an isolated one is found, but almost invariably they are 
in groups of three to ten or more. They are usually placed along the crest 
of a ridge, but when in the bottoms or on a level bluff they are in direct 
lines or gentle curves. They are very numerous, being found in almost 
every bottom and on nearly every bluff. They are usually circular and 
from 2 to 12 feet high, and are composed wholiy of earth, wholly of 
stone, or of the two combined. Where stone was used the plan seems to 
have been first to pave the natural surface with flat stones, in one or 
two thicknesses, for a foundation. In one case the stones were thrown 
together indiscriminately. Human remains are almost invariably found 
inthem. The bones are generally very much decayed,.though each bone 
is found almost entire except those of the head. This seems to have 
always rested on a stone, and to have been covered by one or more 
stones, so that it is always found in a crushed condition. In rare in- 
stances stone implements, pipes, ete., are found in the mounds. The re- 
mains found in tumuli wholly of stone are much more decayed than in 
those of mixed material. 

One opened by the writers of the article is described by them as fol- 
lows: 

On the south side of it the bed stone had been formed into a shallow trough. On re- 
moving the flat stones which coyered this, and which showed no action of fige, we 
found a bed of charcoal several inches thick, both animal and vegetable, and the 
limestone which composed it was burned completely through. Some fragments of a 
human femur were found in a calcined state. There were no indications of fire else- 
where in the mound, but there were the partial remains of several skeletons, lying in 
two layers, with stone and earth between them. 

Tn another, examined by them, fragments of human bones were found 
so near the surface as to be reached by the plow; but deeper, on the 
north sides, were single skeletons laid at length east and west, and be- 
tween them amass of bones confused as though thrown in indiserimi- 
nately. The diameter of this mound was about 30 feet, height 23 feet. 

In section 24, township 55, range 7, is a small hill, known as ‘ Wilson’s 
Knob.” Its erest, which is about 120 feet long, is completely covered 
with stone to the depth of several feet, the pile beimg about 20 feet 
wide. Examination brought to light the fact that this was originally a 
row of stone mounds or burial vaults, nine in number, circular in form, 
each from eight to nine feet in diameter (inner measure), and contig- 
uous to one another. Judging from appearances it would seem that 
each had been of a conical or dome-like form. They were composed 
wholly of stone, and the remains found in them were almost wholly de- 
composed. 

On another ridge the same parties found another row with four stone 
mounds similar to those described, except that the cists were square 





1 Pages 533-6. 


THOMAS. } MOUNDS OF CLARKE COUNTY, MISSOURI. 43 


instead of circular, the sides of the latter being equal to the diameter of 
the former. In these only small fragments of bone could be found. 

Although Messrs. Hardy and Scheetz evidently considered these stone 
structures as receptacles for the dead, and as erected for this purpose, 
yet it is possible they may have been intended for some other use. 

The mounds of Pike 
County are chiefly of mixed 
material similar to those 
mentioned,! though some 
of them contain rectangu- 
jar stone vaults. One of 
these vaults, measuring 4 
by 5 feet, was found to con- 
tain the remains of eight 
skeletons. Another, areg- 
ular box-shaped cist of stone 
slabs, contained nothing 
save a few cranial bones 
very much decayed. An- 
other of large size contained 
human remains with which 
were some arrow-heads, a 
vessel of clay, and a carved 
steatite pipe, having upon 
its front a figure-head. 

I have given these par- 
ticulars in order to show 
how closely they agree with 
the discoveries made by the 
Bureau assistant in this 
region, from whose notes I 
take the following descrip- 
tion: 

Between Fox River and 
Sugar Creek, in Clarke 
County, a sharp dividing 
ridge about 100 feet high 
extends in a northerly di- 
rection for nearly two miles 
from where these streams 
enter upon the open bottom 
of the Mississippi. Scat- 
tered irregularly along the 
erest of this ridge is a line 
of cireular mounds shown in Fig. 18. These range in size from 15 
to 50 feet in diameter and from 2 to 6 feet high, and are circular in 








“OL 


hnossryy ‘Agunog ox1e[O ‘spunowm jo dnory — "gt 

















: Smithsonian Report 1851, p- 537. 


44 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 


form. In No. 3,! diameter 35 feet and height 5 feet, situated in the cen- 
tral portion, was found a stone coffin or cist 7 feet long and 2 feet wide, 
formed of slabs of sandstone in the usual manner. This was covered 
first with similar slabs and then the whole incased in a layer of rougher 
stones. Over this was a layer of hard éarth, which was evidently in a 
plastic state when placed there, as it had run into and filled up the in- 
terstices. Above this was a foot or more of yellowish earth, similar to 
that forming the ridge. In the coffin was the skeleton of an adult, ly- 
ing horizontally on the back, but too far gone to decay to admit of re- 
moval. No specimens of art of any kind were found with it. 

No. 4, a trifle smaller than No. 3, was opened by running a trench 
from the eastern margin. For a distance of 15 or 16 feet nothing was 
encountered except the earth, with which it appeared to be covered to 
the depth of 2 feet. Here was found a layer of rough stones covering a 
mass of charcoal and ashes with bones intermixed. In fact the indica- 
tions leave the impression that one or more persons (or their bones) had 
been burned in a fire on the natural surface of the earth near the cen- 
ter of the mound, the coals and brands of which were then covered 
with rough stones thrown in, without any system, to the depth of 3 feet, 
over a space 10 or 12 feet in diameter, and then covered with earth. 
Only fragments of charred human bones, pieces of rude pottery, and 
stone chips were found commingled with the charcoal and ashes. 

Another group on the farm of Mr. J. N. Boulware, near the line be- 
tween Clarke and Lewis counties, was examined by the same party. 
This group, which is situated on a bench or terrace from 20 to 40 feet 
above the Mississippi bottoms, consists of some 55 or 60 ordinary cireu- 
lar mounds of comparatively small size. 

In one of these, 45 feet in diameter and 5 feet high, were found, near 
the top, the fragments of a human skeleton much decayed, and broken 
pottery, encircled by a row of flat stones set up edgewise and covered 
with others of a similar character. Below these was a layer of very 
hard light-colored earth, mixed throughout with fragments of charred 
human bones and pottery, charcoal and stone chips. 

Another, about 60 feet in diameter, was found to consist (except the 
top layer of soil, about 1 foot thick) of hard, dried ‘‘mortar” (apparently 
clay and ashes mixed), in which fragments of charred human bones, 
small rounded pieces of pottery, and stone scrapers were mingled with 
charcoal and ashes. 

“As all the mounds opened here,” remarks the assistant, ‘‘ presented 
this somewhat singular feature, I made a very careful examination of 
this mortar-like substance. I found that there were differences be- 
tween different portions of the same mound sufficiently marked to trace 
the separate masses. This would indicate that the mounds were built 
by successive deposits of mortar thus mixed with charred bones, and 
not in strata but in masses.” . 


1 Counting from the southern end of the line. 


THE OHIO DISTRICT. 


This, as before stated, includes Ohio, a portion of eastern Indiana, 
and the western part of West Virginia. 

As only very limited explorations have been made in the Ohio portion 
of this district by the Bureau of Ethnology, I will content myself with 
a brief allusion to the observations of others. 

The descriptions given by Squier and Davis of the few burial mounds 
they explored are too well known to require repeating here. Their 
conclusion in regard te them, which has already been alluded to, is 
stated in general terms as follows: 


Mounds of this class are very numerous. They are generally of considerable size, 
varying from 6 to 80 feet in height, but having an average altitude of from 15 to 20 
or 25 feet. They stand without the walls cf enclosures at a distance more or less re- 
mote from them. 

Many are isolated, with no other monuments near them; but they frequently occur 
in groups, sometimes in close connection with each other, and exhibiting a depend- 
ence which was not without its meaning. They are destitute of altars, nor do they 
possess the regularity which characterizes the “temple mounds.” The usual form is 
that of a simple cone; sometimes they are elliptical or pear-shaped. These mounds 
invariably cover a skeleton (in very rare instances more than one, as in the case of 
the Grave Creek mound), which at the time of interment was enveloped in bark or 
coarse matting, or inclosed in a rude sarcophagus of timber, the traces and in some 
instances the very casts of which remain. Occasionally the chamber of the dead is 
built of stone, rudely laid up, without cement of any kind. Burial by fire seems to 
have been frequently practiced by the mound-builders, Urn burial also appears to 
have prevailed to a considerable extent in the Southern States. With the skeletons 
in these mounds are found various remains of art, comprising ornaments, utensils, 
and weapons.! 


For the purpose of conveying to the mind a clear idea of the char- 
acter of these mounds, I give here a copy of their figure of one of them 
(Fig. 19), and also of the wooden vault found in it (Fig. 20). This 
mound, as was the case with most of the burial mounds opened by them, 
although comparatively large, is without any distinct stratification. 

In some cases (see Ancient Monuments, Figs. 52 and 53, p. 164) a 
layer of bark was first spread on the natural surface of the ground 
after it had been cleared, leveled, and packed ; on this the body was 
laid at fulllength. It was then covered with another layer of bark and 
the mound was heaped over this. 


‘Ancient Monuments, p. 161. It may be rewarked here that the statement that 
“urn burial appears to have prevailed to a considerable extent in the Southern 
States” cannot be sustained by facts. 

45 


46 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 


Although no mounds containing stone sepulchers fell under their 
notice during their explorations, they obtained satisfactory evidence 
that one within the limits of Chillicothe had been removed, in which a 
stone coffin, ‘‘ corresponding very nearly with the kistvaen of English 
antiquarians ” was discovered. 


é 

















































































































Fic. 20.— Wooden vault (after Squier and Davis). 


Some rather singular burial mounds have been described as found in 
different parts of this State, but unfortunately the descriptions are 
based largely on memory and second-hand, statements and hence do not 
have that stamp of accuracy and authenticity that is desirable. For 
example, a large stone mound, which formerly stood a short distance 
from Newark, is described ! as conical in form, 18° feet in diameter, and 
from 40 to 50 feet high, composed of stones in their natural shape. 
This, upon remoyal, was found to cover some fifteen or sixteen small 
earth mounds. In one of these were found human bones and river 
shells. In another was encountered a layer of hard white fire-clay. 
Two or three feet below this was a wooden trough. This was overlaid 
by small logs of wood to serve as a cover, and in it was found a skeleton, 
around which appeared the impression of a coarse cloth. With it were 
fifteen copper rings and a “ breastplate” of the same metal. The wood 
of the trough and covering was ina good state of preservation. The 
clay which covered it was impervious both to air and water. ‘The logs 





' Smithsonian Report 1866, p. 359. 


THOMAS. ] BURIAL MOUNDS OF SOUTHERN OHIO. 47 


which overlaid the wooden sarcophagus “ were so well preserved that 
the ends showed the axe marks, and the steepness of the kerf seemed 
to indicate that some instrument sharper than the stone axe found 
throughout the West had been employed to eut them.” 

“In another of these mounds a large number of human bones, but no 
other relics worthy of note, were found:”! 

In a mound situated in Clear Creek Township, Ashland County, a 
stone coffin or cist was discovered, constructed of flat stones set up 
edgewise. It contained six or eight skeletons, ‘neatly cleaned and 
packed, in a good state of preservation.” ” 

A statement worthy of notice in this connection is made by Mr. H. 
B. Case in the Smithsonian Report for 1881.2 -The Delaware Indians 
formerly had a village in the northern part of Green Township, Ash- 
land County, which was still occupied by them when the white settlers 
reached there in 1809. An examination of their graves in 1876 brought 
to light the fact that in some cases the dead were buried in stone cists ; 
in others small, round, drift bowlders were placed around the skeletons. 

One of the most satisfactory and most important accounts of Ohio 
burial mounds will be found in a “Report of Explorations of Mounds 
in Southern Ohio,” by Prof. E. B. Andrews, published in the Tenth 
Annual Report of the Peabody Museum. Speaking of the George Con- 
net mound, in Athens County, he says: 


This is a low mound about 6 feet high with a broad base perhaps 40 feet in diame- 
ter. It has for years been plowed over and its original height has been considerably 
reduced. My attention was drawn to this mound by the burnt clay on its top. A 
trench 5 feet wide was dug through the center. On the east side much burnt yellow 
clay was found, while on the west end of the trench considerable black earth ap- 
peared, which I took to be kitchen refuse. 

About 5 feet below the top we came upon large quantities of charcoal, especially on 
the western side. Underneath the charcoal was found a skeleton with the head to 
the east. The body had evidently been enclosed in some wooden structure. First 
there was a platform of wood placed upon the ground, on the original level of the 
plain. On this wooden floor timbers or logs were placed longitudinally and over 
these timbers there were laid other pieces of wood, forming an enclosed box or coffin. 
A part or this wood was only charred, the rest was burnt to ashes. The middle part 
of the body was in the hottest fire and many of the vertebrie, ribs, and other bones 
were burnt to a black cinder, and at this point the enclosing timbers were burnt to 
ashes. The timbers enclosing the lower extremities were only charred. 

T am led to think that before any fire was kindled a layer of dirt was thrown over 
the wooden structure, making a sort of burial. On this dirt a fire was built, but by 
some misplacement of the dirt the fire reached the timbers below, andat such points 
as the air could penetrate there was an active combustion, but at others, where the 
dirt still remained, there was only a smothered fire, like that in a charcoal pit. It is 
difficult to explain the existence of the charred timbers in any other way. There 
must have been other fires than that immediately around and above the body. and 
many of them, because on one side of the mound the clay is burned eyen to the top of 
the mound. In one place, 3 feet above the body, the clay is vitrified. 








' See, also, Smithsonian Report 1881, p. 596. 
*Smithonian Report 1877, p. 264. 
3Page 598. 


48 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 


It is possible that fires were built at different levels, open fires, and that most of 
the ashes were blown away by the winds which often sweep over the plain. I have 
stated that there was first laid down a sort of floor of wood, on which the body was 
placed. On the same floor were placed about 500 copper beads, forming a line almost 
around the body. 

In addition to these copper beads a number of shell beads, and also 
a hollow copper implement in the shape of a caulker’s chisel, were found. 
The copper implement and beads were made of thin sheet-copper which, 
Professor Andrews says, had been *“‘ hammered out into so smooth and 
even a sheet that no traces of the hammer were visible. It would be 
taken indeed for rolled sheet copper.” Some of the bones were pretty 
well preserved. 

The professor closes his description with the remark: “ The skeleton 
undoubtedly belonged to a veritable mound-builder.” In this he is 
certainly correct, as the mode of burial in this case agrees so exactly 
with that observed by Squier and Davis in the larger mounds opened 
by them as to leave no doubt that both are to be attributed to one peo- 
ple, although the mound described by Professor Andrews is probably 
of much more recent date than those mentioned by Squier and Davis. 

What explanation shall we give of the presence in this work of thin 
sheet-copper ‘‘hammered out into so smooth and even a sheet that no 
traces of the hammer were visible,” and that ‘“ would be taken for rolled 
copper”? 

The simple and most natural explanation would be that it was derived 
from European traders and early adventurers ; and such, Iam disposed 
to believe, is the correct one. The distinction between the sheets and 
ornaments hammered from native copper with the rude implements of 
the aborigines, and many specimens made of this smooth sheet copper 
found in mounds, is too apparent to be overlooked. But of this more 
hereafter, as I shall have occasion again to refer to the subject. 

Tn another mound, 8 or 9 feet high, in the same county, he found near 
the top a considerable bed of kitchen refuse; at the bottom, on the 
original surface, ashes and burnt human bones. ‘These bones,” he 
remarks, “had evidently been burned before burial, and had been gath- 
ered in miscellaneous confusion and placed in a narrow space 5 or 6 _ 
inches wide and from 2 to 3 feet long. The ashes were doubtless 
brought with them, at least there appeared to be no evidences of a 
local fire in the reddening or hardening of the clay or in remnants of 
charcoal.” 

As bearing upon a suggestion made by Colonel Norris, and previously 
referred to,! in regard to the probable use of copper beads found across 
the limbs of a skeleton, I call attention to another statement of Pro- 
fessor Andrews. Speaking of the School-house mound he says: 


At a point near the northwestern corner of the school-house and perhaps 15 feet 
from the center of the round, there was plowed up, in extremely hard and dry dirt, 








1Page 35. 


THOMAS.] MOUNDS NEAR MADISONVILLE, OHIO. 49 


a large pieee of what I suppose to have been an ornamented dress. It was covered 
with copper beads} which were struug on a buckskin string and placed on four layers 
of the same skin. It was found 8 feet below the original surface of the mound and 
in extremely hard, dry dirt which had never been disturbed. 


From the figure and the description we can have but little doubt that 
this was a buckskin hunting-shirt, which gives support to Colonel Nor- 
ris’s Suggestion. 

Recently some interesting burial mounds near Madisonville have been 
carefully explored by Dr. C. L. Metz in the interest of the Peabody 
Museum. Only partial notices of these explorations, which are not yet 
completed, have been published, but we deem these of sufficient impor- 
tance in this connection to quote freely from them,! so far as they serve 
to illustrate the modes of burial and construction of burial mounds of 
this region. 

Speaking of one of the mounds of a group situated in Anderson 
Township, Professor Putnam remarks : 


Mound 21 of Group C was about 4 feet high and 50 in diameter. It proved to 
be made entirely of the sandy loam of the immediate vicinity. The remains of five 
skeletons were discovered at different points in the lower portion of the mound. The 
bones were nearly ali reduced to dust, and only a fragment here and there could be 
saved. There was not a single relic found with the skeletons, and a few flint chips 
and a broken arrow-head were the only artificial objects found in the earth compos- 
ing the mound. The condition of the bones showed considerable antiquity, but their 
advanced decay and friability were probably largely due to the character of the soil 
in which they were enclosed. ‘The position of the skeletons rather goes to show that 
the several bodies were buried at different times, and that the mound was gradually 
constructed as the burials took place. For the present we are inclined to consider 
this mound, with some others in the valley, as a place of sepulcher by tribes of a 
more recent time than the builders of the earthworks of the Turner group. 

Mound No. 22_proved to be of a more interesting character than the last. This 
mound was 14 feet high and about 100 in diameter. It was composed of pure clay, 
except in the central portion. Five feet from the top there was found a hard mass 
of burnt earth and ashes, 7 feet deep and a little over 9 feet in width and length. 
Resting on top of this, about in the center, and covered in part by the overlying clay, 
lay a large stone celt. A foot below this, in the burnt material, was a stone imple- 
ment perforated atitsupperend. Below this, at points several feet apart, in the burnt 
mass, were three holes or pockets, each of which contained the remains of portions 
of human skeletons, surrounded by a thin layer of clay. Near the bones in the lowest 
pocket were three spear-heads or chipped points. A few potsherds and several flint 
chips were found throughout the burnt mass. Under it was a circular bed of black 
soil and ashes, 13 inches thick in the center and 14 feet in diameter, beneath which 
was a Jayer of fine sand and gravel, 3 inches thick, which covered another circular 
bed of black soil and ashes, 14 inches thick in the center and 15 feet in diameter. Di- 
rectly under the center of this lower layer was a pit 4 feet deep and 10 feet 4 inches 
long, 4 feet wide at the endsand 3 feet5 inches wideat thecenter. This pit probably 
had contained a wooden structure, as its sides showed rough striations, as if large 
logs had once rested against them. The pit had been dug in the drift gravel upon 
which the mound was built, and was neariy filled with soft, spongy ashes mixed with 
a reddish substance. Extended at full length at the bottom of the pit was a human 
skeleton, with the head to the west. Among the bones of the neck a single shell bead 





‘See 17th Report Peabody Museum, pp. 339-347. 
5 ETH—4 


50 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 


was found; at the feet were ten stones or small bowlders, such as are common in the 
drift gravel. It is evident that this interesting tumulus was erected over the grave 
which was dug in the underlying gravel, and that the human bones placed in the 
burnt mass above the grave, with the few stone implements found in or on the mass, 
had some connection with the funeral ceremonies which took place in connection with 
the burial of the body in the pit below. The regularity of the deposits over the pit, 
which was under the center of the mound, seems to be sufficient proof of this. 


Another mound, nearer the river, situated on an elevated portion of 
bottom land, was found to differ in construction from any of the others 
explored in this vicinity. This is described as follows: ! 


According to Mr. William Edwards, sixty years ago it was about 9 feet high, and 
coyered by a heavy forest growth, which also extended over the region about. Over 
fifty years ago the land was cleared and the mound scraped down by Mr. Edwards, who, 
after removing about 4 feet of earth from its summit, came to a large quantity of stones, 
with which were many human bones. Since that time the mound has been plowed 
over and stones have been taken from it until it has been so nearly leveled as hardly 
to be noticed. Thus only the base of the mound could be explored; but that has 
proved of great interest in connection with the other works of the valley. On remoy- 
ing the earth around the base it was found that stones, many of considerable size, 
had been so arranged as to form a mound about 5 feet high in the center and 90 feet 
in diameter, over which the earth had been placed to the height of about 4 feet, as 
stated by Mr. Edwards. In height about one-half of the stone portion of the mound 
was undisturbed. On removing the outer covering of stones it was found that many 
burials, probably at least one hundred, had been made in the mound, The remains 
of seventy-one skeletons were obtained. These skeletons were all more or less crushed 
by the stones which surrounded them, as, in addition to the outer stones of the mound, 
each body had been surrounded with stones at the time of its burial. In many in- 
stances large slabs of limestone had been used, and in a few cases they were set on 
edge around the body. In other cases small stones had been piled around and over 
the bodies, which had been placed in various positions, some extended and others flexed 
in various ways. With many of the skeletons were stone implements and ornaments, 
among which were several of the flat stones with two or more perforations, generally 
known as gorgets. There were also many bone implements, shell and bone orna- 
ments, and cut teeth of bears. Several small copper awlsin bone handles, and the 
shells of box-turtles, were also found with the skeletons. Many fragments of pottery 
and broken bones of animals were scattered through the mass of stones and human 
bones. At the feet of the skeleton, in the center of the mound, there was an upright 
slab of limestone 2 feet long by 20 inches wide, and with this skeleton were the fol- 
lowing objects: Resting on the chest was a large ornament made from the apex of a 
conch shell, with a hole at one edge for suspension; below this, on the ribs, was a 
spear-shaped gorget, with one hole, and by its side were several shell ornaments, also 
perforated. Lying near the right femur and parallel with it was a carved bone, 
grooved on the under side and having two holes; between this and the leg bone were 
four small pieces of caryed bone about an inch in length. In the bones of the right 
hand was a small awl made of native copper and inserted in a little round handle 
made of bone, similar to others found with other skeletons in the mound. At the 
south side of the mound, on the original surface, was a burnt space, on which was a 
large quantity, several bushels, of broken bones of animals, clam shells, and fragments 
of pottery mixed with ashes. This mass seems to have existed before the mound was 
made, or at all events completed, as five of the burials had taken place above it. On 
the plain about the mound are evidences of the site of a former village, and the annual 





THOMAS. } MOUNDS OF THE KANAWHA VALLEY. 51 


ments of the same character as those from the mound. From this fact, and from the 
character of the burials in the mound, as well as that of the objects found with the 
skeletons, and from the absence of the characteristic ornaments found with so many of 
the human remains in the Turner group and other ancient mounds of the Ohio Valley, 
we are led to look upon this stone mound as the burial place of a tribe of Indians living 
in the region subsequent to the builders of the Turner mounds. The remains found 
in this stone mound, as a whole, indicate that the people here buried were closely con- 
nected with those who made the singular ash-pits in the ancient cemetery near Madi- 
sonville.! 

Passing into West Virginia we notice first the celebrated Grave 
Creek mound. This has been described and figured so often that it is 
unnecessary for me to do more than call attention to certain particu- 
lars in regard to it to which I may desire hereafter to refer by way of 
comparison. It is in the form of a regular cone, about 70 feet high and 
nearly 300 feet in diameter at the base. A shaft sunk from the apex to 
the base disclosed two wooden vaults, the first about half way down 
and the other at the bottom. In the first or upper one was a single 
skeleton, decorated with a profusion of shell beads, copper bracelets, 
and plates of mica. The lower vault, which was partly in an excaya: 
tion made in the natural ground, was found to be rectangular, 12 by § 
feet and 7 feet high. Along each side and across the ends upright 
timbers had been placed, which supported other timbers thrown across 
the vault as a covering. These were covered with a layer of rough 
stones. In this vault were two human skeletons, one of which had no 
ornaments, while the other was surrounded with hundreds of shell beads. 
In attempting to enlarge this vault the workmen discovered around it 
ten other skeletons. While carrying the horizontal tunnel, several 
masses of charcoal and burnt bones were encountered after a distance 
of 12 or 15 feet had been reached. _ 

Before making any comments on the construction of this noted work 
and the mode of burial in it, I will present some facts recently brought 
to light in regard to the burial mounds of the Kanawha Valley by the 
assistants of the Bureau. 

A large mound situated on the farm of Col. B. H. Smith, near Charles- 
ton, is conical in form, about 175 feet in diameter at the base and 35 
feet high. It appears to be double; that is to say, it consists of two 
mounds, one built on the other, the lower or original one 20 feet and 
the upper 15 feet high. 

The exploration was made by sinking a shaft, 12 feet square at the 
top and narrowing gradually to 6 feet square at the bottom, down 
through the center of the structure to the original surface of the ground 
and ashortdistance below it. After removing a slight covering of earth, 
an irregular mass of large, rough, flat sandstones, evidently brought 
from the bluffs half a mile distant, was encountered. Some of these 
sandstones were a good load for two ordinary men. 

The removal of a wagon load or so of these stones brought to light a 





‘17th Report Peabody Museum, p. 344, 


52 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 


stone vault 7 feet long and 4 feet deep, in the bottom of which was found 
a large ang much deeayed human skeleton, but wanting the head, 
which the most careful examination failed to discover. A single rough 
spear head was the only accompanying article found in this vault. 
At the depth of 6 feet, in earth similar to that around the base of 
the mound, was found a second skeleton, also much decayed, of an 
adult of ordinary size. At 9 feet a third skeleton was encountered, in 
a mass of loose, dry earth, surrounded by the remains of a bark coffin. 
This was in a much better state of preservation than the other two. 
The skull, which was preserved, is of the compressed or ‘ flat-head” type. 
For some 3 or 4 feet below this the earth was found to be mixed with 
ashes. At this depth in his downward progress Colonel Norris began 
to encounter the remains of what further excavation showed to have 
been a timber vault, about 12 feet square and 7 or 8 feet high. From 
the condition in which the remains of the cover were found, he concludes 
that this must have been roof-shaped, and, having become decayed, was 
crushed in by the weight of the addition made tothe mound. Some of 
the walnut timbers of this vault were as much as 12 inches in diameter. 
In this vault were found five skeletons, one lying prostrate on the floor 
at the depth of 19 feet from the top of the mound, and four others, which, 
from the positions in which they were found, were supposed to have 
‘been placed standing in the four corners. The first of these was dis- 
covered at the depth of 14 feet, amid a commingled mass of earth and 
decaying bark and timbers, nearly erect, leaning against the wall, and 
surrounded by the remains of a bark coffin. All the bones except those 
of the left forearm were too far decayed to be saved; these were pre- 
served by two heavy copper bracelets which yet surrounded them. 
The skeleton found lying in the middle of the floor of the vault was 
of unusually large size, * measuring 7 feet 6 inches in length and 19 


Fic. 21.—Copper gorget from mound, Kanawha County, West Virginia. 


inches between the shoulder sockets.” It had also been inclosed in a 
wrapping or coffin of bark, remains of which were still distinctly visible. 
It lay upon the back, head east, legs together, and arms by the sides. 
There were six heavy bracelets on each wrist; four others were found 
under the head, which, together with a spear-point of black flint, were 
incased in a mass of mortar-like substance, which had evidently been 
wrapped in some textile fabric. On the breast was a copper gorget (Fig. 


THOMAS. | MOUNDS OF THE KANAWHA VALLEY. 53 


21). In each hand were three spear-heads of black flint, and others 
were about the head, knees, and feet. Near the right hand were two 
hematite celts, and on the shoulder were three large and thick plates of 
mica. About the shoulders, waist, and thighs were numerous minute 
perforated shells and shell beads. 

While filling in the excavation, the pipe represented in Fig. 22 was 





=< 





Fic. 22.— Pipe from mound, Kanawha County, West Virginia. 


found in the dirt which had been removed from it. This pipe has been 
carved out of gray steatite and highly polished. It is worthy of note 
that it is precisely of the form described by Adair as made by the 
Cherokees, and also that it approaches very near to an Ohio type 
(Fig. 23). 





Fic. 23.—Pipe from mound, Butler County, Ohio. 


Another mound of rather large size, in the same locality, was opened 
by the Bureau assistant. 

In order that all the facts bearing on its uses may be understood it 
is necessary to notice its immediate surroundings. 

Plate V is a map showing the ancient works in the valley of 
the Kanawha, from 3 to 5 miles below Charleston, and Plate VI is 
an enlarged plat of the area embracing those numbered I, If and 1, 3, and 
4on the map. As will be seen by an inspection of the latter plate, the 
works included are two circular enclosures, 1 and 2; one excavation ; one 
included mound, 2; three mounds, 3, 1, and 4, outside of the enclosures; 
and a graded way. As our attention at present is directed only to 
the large mound, 1, it is unnecessary to notice the other works further 
than to add that each enclosure is about 220 feet in diameter, and con- 
sists of a circular wall and an inside ditch. The excavation is nearly 
cireular and about 140 feet in diameter. The large mound is conical in 
form, 173 feet in diameter, and 33 feet high. It is slightly truncated, 
the top having been leveled off some forty years ago for the purpose 


BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 


or 
bs 


of building a judge’s stand in connection with a race-course that was 
laid out around the mound. 

A shaft 12 feet square at the top and narrowing downward was sunk 
to the base. At the depth of 4 feet, in a very hard bed of earth and 
ashes mixed, were found two much decayed human skeletons, both 
stretched horizontally on their backs, heads south, and near their heads 
several stone implements. From this point until a depth of 24 feet was 
reached the shaft passed through very hard earth of a light-gray color, 
apparently clay and ashes mixed, iu which nothing of consequence was 
found, When a depth of 24 feet was reached the material suddenly 
changed to a much softer and darker earth, disclosing the casts and some 
decayed fragments of timbers from 6 to 12 inches in diameter. Here 
were found fragments of bark, ashes, and also numerous fragments 
of animal bones, some of which had been split lengthwise. At the 
depth of 31 feet was a human skeleton, lying prostrate, head north, 
which had evidently been enclosed in a coffin or wrapping of elm bark. 
In contact with the head was a thin sheet of hammered native copper. 
By enlarging the base of the shaft until a space some 16 feet in diameter 
was opened, the character and the contents of the base of the mound 
were more fully ascertained. This brought to light the fact that the 
builders, after having first smoothed, leveled, and packed the natural 
surface, carefully spread upon the floor a layer of bark (chiefly elm), the 
inner side up, and upon this a layer of fine white ashes, clear of char- 
coal, to the depth, probably, of 5 or 6 inches, though pressed now to 
little more than 1 inch. On this the bodies were laid and presumably 
covered with bark. 

The enlargement of the shaft also brought to view ten other skeletons, 
all apparently adults, five on one side and five on the other side of the 
central skeleton, and, like it, extended horizontally, with their feet point- 
ing toward the central one but not quite touchingit. Like the first, they 
had all been buried in bark coffins or wrappings. With each skeleton 
on the east side was a fine, apparently unused lance-head about 3 inches 
long, and by the right side of the northern one a fish-dart, three arrow- 
heads, and some fragments of Unio shells and pottery. No implements 
or ornaments were found with either of the five skeletons on the west side, 
although careful search was made therefor. In addition to the copper 
plate, a few shell beads and a large lance-head were found with the cen- 
tral skeleton. As there were a number of holes resembling post-holes, 
about the base, which were filled with rotten bark and decayed vegeta- 
ble matter, I am inclined to believe there was a vault here similar to the 
lower vault in the Grave Creek mound, in which the walls were of tim- 
bers set up endwise in the ground. But it is proper to state that the 
assistant who opened the mound is rather disposed to doubt the correct- 
ness of this explanation. 

In order to show the character of the smaller burial mounds of this 
region, I give descriptions of a few opened by Colonel Norris. 


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THOMAS. ] MOUNDS OF THE KANAWHA VALLEY. 55 


One 20 feet in diameter and 7 feet high, with a beech tree 30 inches 
in diameter growing on it, was opened by running a broad trench through 
it. The material of which it was composed was yellow clay, evidently 
from an excavation in the hillside near it. Stretched horizontally on 
the natural surface of the ground, faces up and heads south, were seven 
skeletons, six adults and one child, all charred. They were covered 
several inches thick with ashes, charcoal, and fire-brands, evidently the 
remains of a very heavy fire which must have been smothered before it 
was fully burned out. Three coarse lance-heads were found among the 
bones of the adults, and around the neck of the child three copper beads, 
apparently of hammered native copper. 

Another mound, 50 feet in diameter and 5 feet high, standing guard, 
as it were, at the entrance of an inclosure, was opened, revealing the 
following particulars: The top was strewn with fragments of flat rocks, 
most of which were marked with one or more small, artificial, cup-shaped 
depressions. Below these, to the depth of 2 or 3 feet, the hard yellow 
clay was mixed throughout with similar stones, charcoal, ashes, stone 
chips, and fragments of rude pottery. Near the center and 3 feet from 
the top of the mound were the much decayed remains of a human skele- 
ton, lying on its back, in a very rude stone-slab coffin. Beneath this 
were other flat stones, and under them charcoal, ashes, and baked earth, 
covering the decayed bones of some three or four skeletons which lay 
upon the original surface of the ground. So far as could be ascertained, 
the skeletons in this mound lay with their heads toward the east. No 
relics of any kind worthy of notice were found with them. 

Another mound of similar size, upon a dry terrace, was found to con- 
sist chiefly of very hard clay, scattered through which were stone chips 
and fragments of rude pottery. Near the natural surface of the ground 
a layer of ashes and charcoal was encountered, in which were found 
the remains of at least two skeletons. 

A mound some 200 yards south of the inclosure, situated on a slope 
and measuring 50 feet in diameter and 6 feet in height, gave a some- 
what different result. It consisted wholly of very hard clay down to the 
natural surface of the hill-slope. But further excavation revealed a 
vault or pit in the original earth 8 feet long, 3 feet wide, and 5 feet deep 
at the upper end. In this was found a decayed skeleton, with the head 
up hill or toward the north. Upon the breast.was a sandstone gorget, 
and upon it aleaf-shaped knife of black flint and a neatly polished hem- 
atite celt. ‘The bones of the right arm were found stretched outat right 
angles to the body, along a line of ashes. Upon the bones of the 
open hand were three piles (five in each) of small leaf-shaped flint knives. 

As the four small moundsjust mentioned pertain tothe Clifton groups, 
in the Elk River Valley, we will call attention to one or twoof the Charles- 
ton group, for the purpose of affording the reader the means of com- 
parison. 

Below the center of No. 7 (see Plate), sunk into the original earth, 
was a vault about 8 feet long, 3 feet wide, and 3 feet deep. Lying ex- 


56 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 


tended on the back in the bottom of this, amid the rotten fragments of 
a bark coffin, was a decayed human skeleton, fully 7 feet long, with 
head west. No evidence of fire was to be seen, nor were any stone im- 
plements discovered, but lying in a circle just above the hips were fifty 
circular pieces of white perforated shell, each about 1 inchin diameter and 
an eighth of an inch thick. The bones of the left arm lay by the side of 
the body, but those of the right arm, as in one of the mounds heretofore 
mentioned, were stretched at right angles to the body, reaching out to 
a small oven-shaped vault, the mortar or cement roof of which was still 
unbroken, The capacity of this small cireular vault was probably two 
bushels, and the peculiar appearance of the dark-colored deposit therein, 
and other indications, led to the belief that it had been filled with corn 
(maize) in the ear. The absence of weapons would indicate that the in- 
dividual buried here was not a warrior, though a person of some impor- 
tance. 

Mound No. 23 of this group presents some peculiarities worthy of no- 
tice. It is 312 feet in circumference at the base and 25 feet high, cov- 
ered with a second growth of timber, some of the stumps of the former 
growth yet remaining. It is unusually sharp and symmetrical. From 
the top down the material was found to be a light-gray and apparently 
mixed earth, so hard as to require the vigorous use of the pick to pene- 
trate it. At the depth of 15 feet the explorers began to find the casts 
and fragments of poles or round timbers less than a foot in diameter. 
These casts and rotten remains of wood and bark increased in abun- 
dance from this point until the original surface of the ground was 
reached. By enlarging the lower end of the shaft to 14 feet in diameter 
it was ascertained that this rotten wood and bark were the remains of 
what had once been a circular or polygonal, timber-sided, and conical- 
roofed vault. Many of the timbers of the sides and roof, being consid- 
erably longer than necessary, had been allowed to extend beyond the 
points of support often 8 or 10 feet, those on the sides beyond the cross- 
ing and those of the roof downward beyond the wall. Upon the floor 
and amid the remains of the timber were numerous human bones and 
also two whole skeletons, the latter but slightly decayed, though badiy 
crushed by the weight pressing on them, but unaccompanied by an or- 
nament or an implement of any kind. A further excavation of about 4 
feet below the floor, or what was supposed to be the floor, of this vault, 
and below the original surface of the ground, brought to light six cir- 
cular, oven-shaped vaults, each about 3 feet in diameter and the same in 
depth. As these six were so placed as to form a semicircle, it is pre- 
sumed there are others under that portion of the mound not reached by 
the excavation. All were filled with dry, dark dust or decayed sub- 
stances, supposed to be the remains of Indian corn in the ear, as it was 
similar to that heretofore mentioned. In the center of the circle indi- 
cated by the positions of these minor vaults, and the supposed center of 
the base of the mound (the shaft not being exactly central), and but 2 feet 
below the floor of the main vault, and in a fine mortar or cement, were 


THomas.| A SO-CALLED ‘‘ALTAR MOUND,” WEST VIRGINIA. 57 


found two cavities resembling in form the bottle or gourd shaped ves- 
sel so frequently met with in the mounds of southeastern Missouri and 
northeastern Arkansas. Unfortunately the further investigation of 
this work was stopped at this stage of progress by cold weather. 

In another mound of this group the burial was in a box-shaped stone 
vault, not of slibs in the usual method, but built up of rough, angular 
stones, 

Mound 31 of this group seems to furnish a connecting link between 
the West Virginia and the Ohio mounds. It is sharp in ou tline, has a 
steep slope, and js flattened on the top; is 318 feet in circumference at 
the base and about 25 feet high. It was opened by digging a shaft 10 
feet in diameter from the center of the top to the base. After passing 
through the top layer of surface soil, some 2 feet thick, a layer of clay 
and ashes 1 foot thick was Sucountered) Here, near the center of the 
shaft, were two skeletons, lying horizontally, one immediately over the 
other, the upper and larger one with the face down and the lower with 
the face up. There were no indications of fire about them. Immedi. 
ately over the heads were one celt and three lance-heads. At the 
depth of 13 feet and a little north of the center of the mound were two 
very large skeletons, in a sitting posture, with their extended legs inter- 
locked to the knees. Their arms were extended and their hands slightly 
elevated, as if together holding up a sandstone mortar which was be- 
tween their faces. This stone is somewhat hemispherical, about 2 feet 
in diameter across the top, which is hollowed in the shape of a shallow 
basin or mortar. It had been subjected to the action of fire until 
burned toa bright red. The cavity was filled with white ashes, contain- 
ing small fragments of bones burned to cinders. Immediately over 
this, and of sufficient size to cover it, was a slab of bluish-gray lime- 
stone about 3 inches thick, which had small cup-shaped excavations on 
the under side. This bore no marks of fire. Near the hands of the 
eastern skeleton were a small hematite celt and a lance-head, and upon 
the left wrist of the other two copper bracelets. At the depth of 25 
feet, and on the natural surface, was found what in an Ohio mound 
would have been designated an “altar.” This was not thoroughly traced 
throughout, but was about 12 feet long and over 8 feet wide, of the 
form shown in Fig. 24. 





za Wan 


Fic. 24.—Mound with so-called “altar,” Kanawha County, West Virginia. 


It consisted of a layer of well-prepared mortar, apparently clay, 
slightly mixed with ashes. This was not more than 6 or 8 inches thick 
in the center of the basin-shaped depression, where it was about 1 foot 


58 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 


Jower than at the other margin. It was burned to a brick-red and cov- 
ered with a compact layer of very fine white ashes, scattered thickly, 
through which were small water-worn bowlders, bearing evidences of 
having undergone an intense heat. Mingled with this mass were a 
few thoroughly charred human bones. The material of the shaft, after 
the first 3 feet at the top, consisted almost wholly of finely packed ashes, 
which appeared to have been deposited at intervals of considerable 
length and not at one time. 

It is evident from this description, which is abridged from the re- 
port of the assistant, that we have here a true representation of the 
so-called “altars” of the Ohio mounds. But, contrary to the usual cus- 
tom, as shown by an examination of the Ohio works, this mound ap- 
pears to have been used by the people who erected it as a burial place, 
for the mode of construction and the material used for the body of it 
forbid the supposition that the lower burial was by a different people 
from those who formed the clay structure at the base. 

It is proper tostate that around and near the inclosure (No. 7 of Plate 
\V) were a number of stone graves of the ordinary box shape, constructed 
in the usual way, of stone slabs. j 

At this place was also discovered a pit or cache resembling those 
found at Madisonville, Ohio. A more thorough examination will proba- 
bly bring to light others. 

The descriptions of other burial mounds of this region, differing 
slightly in minor details from those mentioned, might be presented, but 
the foregoing will suffice to give the types and show the character of 
the structures of this kind in this section. The details given will, I 
think, satisfy any one that the authors of these structures were also 
the authors of the Ohio works, or that they belonged to tribes so closely 
related that we may justly consider them as one people. 

IT have been and am still disposed to connect the mound-builders of 
the Kanawha valley with those of western North Carolina, but our ex- 
plorations in the two sections have convinced me of their close rela- 
tion to the people whose mysterious monuments dot the hills and valleys 
of Ohio. That they were related in some way to the mound-builders of 
North Carolina and East Tennessee is more than probable, but the key 
to unlock this mystery, if it exists anywhere, is most likely to be found 
in the history, traditions, and works of the Cherokees, and the traditions 
relating to the Tallegwi. 

As a result of my examination and discussion of the burial mounds 
of Wisconsin, I reached the conclusion that they were built by the In- 
dian tribes found inhabiting that section at the advent of the whites, or 
by their ancestors. The data, of which but a comparatively small por- 
tion is given, seem to justify this conclusion. But the case is somewhat 
different in reference to the works of the Ohio district. Although the 
data obtained here point with satisfactory certainty to the conclusion 
that Indians were the authors of these works, it cannot be claimed that 










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THOMAS. } THE MYSTERY OF THE MOUNDS OF OHIO. 59 


all or even the larger portion of them were built by Indians inhabiting 
the district when first visited by the whites, or by their ancestors. 

Hence the mystery which enshrouds them is deeper and much more 
difficult to penetrate than that which hangs about the antiquities of 
some of the other districts; in fact, they present probably the most dif- 
ficult problem for solution in this respect of any ancient works of our 
country. That some of the burial mounds, graves, and other works are 
to be attributed to Indians who entered this district after the Euro- 
peans had planted colonies in Canada and along the Atlantic coast is 
probably true, but that much the greater portion of the typical works 
belong to a more distant period must be conceded. It isa singular fact 
that in the latter half of the seventeenth century, when European ex- 
plorers began to penetrate {nto this region, what is now the State of 
Ohio was uninhabited. 

The Miami confederacy, inhabiting the southern shore of Lake Michigan, extended 
southeasterly to the Wabash. The Illinois confederacy extended down the eastern 
shore of the Mississippi to about where Memphis now stands. The Cherokees oceu- 
pied the slopes and valleys of the mountains about the borders of what is now East 
Tennessee, North Carolina, and Georgia. The great basin bounded north by Lake 
Erie, the Miamis, and the Illinois, west by the Mississippi, east by the Alleghanies, 
and ons by the headwaters of the streams that flow into the Gulf of Me Pxico, seems 


to have been uninhabited except by bands of Shawnees, and scarcely visited except 
by war parties of the Five Nations.! 


With the exception of some slight notices of the Erie or Cat Nation 
dwelling south of Lake Erie, the mere mention of the Tongarias (possibly 
but another name for the Eries, with whom Colden identifies them), lo- 
cated somewhere on the Ohio, and the tradition regarding the Tallegwi, 
the only history which remains to us regarding this region previous to 
the close of the seventeenth century, is to be gathered from the ancient 
monuments which dot its surface. Even conjecture can find but few 
pointers on this desert field to give direction to its flight. But it does 
not necessarily follow, because we are unable to determine the direction 
in which the goal we are seeking lies, that we cannot tell some of the 
directions in which it does not lie, and thus narrow the field of our in- 
vestigation. I will therefore venture to offer the following sugges- 
tions: 

As the evidence in regard to the antiquities of the northwestern, the 
southern, and the Appalachian districts points so decidedly to the In- 
dians as the authors, I think we may assume that the works of Ohio 
are attributable to the same race. As they bear a strong resemblance 
in several respects tothe West Virginia and North Carolina works, and 
as the geographical positions of the defensive works indicate pressure 
from the north and north-west, we are perhaps justified in excluding 
from consideration all tribes known to have had their principal seats 
north of the Ohio in historic times, «xcept the Eries, which form an un- 
certain and so far indeterminable factor in the problem. 


‘Early Notices of the Indians of Ohio, by M. F. Force, 1879, p. 3. 


60 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 


The data so far obtained seem to me to indicate the following as the 
most promising lines of research: The possible identity or relation of 
the Tallegwi and the Cherokees; the possibility of this region having 
been the ancient home of the Shawnees or their ancestors (though I 
believe the testimony of the mounds is most decidedly against this and 
the following supposition) ; and the theory that the builders of these 
works were driven southward and were merged into the Chahta-Mus- 
cogee family. 

Be our conclusion on this question what it may, one important result 
of the explorations in this northern section of the United States is the 
conviction that there was during the mound-building age a powerful 
tribe or association of closely allied tribes occupying the valley of the 
Ohio, whose chief seats were in the Kanawha, Scioto, and Little Miami 
Valleys. We might suppose that one strong tribe had occupied succes- 
sively these various points, yet the slight though persistent differences 
in methods and customs indicated by the works seem to favor the other 
view. Moreover, the data furnished by the burial mounds lead to the 
conclusion that all the works of these localities are relatively contempo- 
raneous. Not that those of either section are all of the same age, per- 
haps by some two or three or possibly more centuries, but that those of 
one section, as a whole, are relatively of the same age as those of the 
other sections. Nevertheless a somewhat careful study of all the data 
bearing on this subject leads me to the conclusion that the Cherokees 
are the modern representatives of the Tallegwi, and that most of the typ- 
ical works of Ohio and West Virginia owe their origin to this people. 

In each sect‘on there are some indications that the authors of these 
works followed the custom of erecting burial mounds down to the time 
the Europeans appeared on the continent. These evidences have not 
been given here, as it is not my intention to discuss them in this paper. 

In Ohio there are undoubted evidences of one, if not two, waves of 
population subsequent to the occupancy of that region by the builders of 
the chief works. But these were of comparatively short duration, and 
were evidently Indian hordes pressed westward and southward by the 
Iroquois tribes and the advance of the whites. 


THE APPALACHIAN DISTRICT. 


This district, as already defined, includes East Tennessee, western 
North Carolina, southwestern Virginia, and the southeastern part of 
Kentucky. It is probable that northeastern Georgia and the north- 
western part of South Carolina should be included, but the investiga- 
tions in most of the sections named have not been sufficiently thorough 
to enable us to fix with any degree of certainty the boundaries of the 
district. 

Although there is uncertainty in reference to the area occupied by 
the people who left behind them the antiquities found in this region, 
there can be no doubt that here we find a class of burial mounds differ- 
ing in several important respects from any we have so far noticed. 

Some of the most important mounds of this class found in this dis- 
trict were discovered in Caldwell County, North Carolina, and opened 
in 1882 by Mr. J. P. Rogan, one of the Bureau assistants, aided by Dr. 
J. M. Spainhour, a resident of the county. 

As Mr. Rogan’s descriptions are somewhat full, I give them sub- 
stantially as found in his report: 

The T. F. Nelson mound.—This mound, so insignificant in appearance 
as scarcely to attract any notice, was located on the farm of Rey. T. F. 
Nelson, in Caldwell County, North Carolina, on the bottom land of the 
Yadkin, about 100 yards from the river-bank. It was almosta true circle 
in outline, 38 feet in diameter, but not exceeding at any point 18 inches 
in height. The thorough excavation made revealed the fact that the 
builders of the mound had first dug a circular pit, with perpendicular 
margin, to the depth of 3 feet, and 38 feet in diameter, then deposited 
their dead in the manner hereafter shown, and afterwards covered them 
over, raising a slight mound above the pit. 

A plan of the pit, drawn at the time (after the removal of the dirt), 
_ showing the stone graves and skeletons, is given in Fig, 20. 

The walled graves or vaults and altar-shaped mass were built of 
water worn bowlders and clay or earth merely sufficient to hold them 
in place. 

No. 1, a stone grave or vault standing exactly in the center of the pit. 
In this case a small circular hole, a little over 3 feet in diameter and ex- 
tending down 3 feet below the bottom of the large pit, had been dug, 
the body or skeleton placed perpendicularly upon its feet, and the wall 
built up around it from the bottom of the hole, converging, after a 
height of 4 feet was reached, so as to be covered at the top by a single 
soapstone rock of moderate size. On the top of the head of the skeleton 


and immediately under the capstone of the vault were found several 
61 


62 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 


plates of silver mica, which had evidently been cut with some rude im- 
plement. Although the bones were much decayed, yet they were re- 
tained in position by the dirt which filled the vault, an indication that 
the flesh had been removed before burial and the vault filled with dirt 
as it was built up. 

















Fic. 25.—A ppearance of T. F. Nelson mound after excavation. 


Nos. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10, although walled around in a similar 
manner, were in a sitting posture on the bottom of the pit. In the 
grave of No. 2 was found a polished celt, in that of No. 3 a single 
discoidal stone, in that of No. 6 two polished celts, and immediately 
over No. 9 a pitted stone. 

Nos. 11, 12, and 13 are three skeletons in a squatting posture, with 
no wall around them and unaccompanied by relics of any kind. 

Nos. 14 and 15 are two uninclosed skeletons, lying horizontally at 
full length. With the former some pieces of broken soapstone pipes 
were found, and with the latter one polished celt. 

No. 16, an uninelosed “squatter,” of unusually large size, not less than 
7 feet high when living. Near the mouth was an uninjured soapstone 
pipe. The legs were extended in a southwest direction, upon a bed of 
burnt earth. 

The faces of all the squatting skeletons were turned away from the 
standing central one. 

At A was found a considerable quantity of black paint in little lumps, 
which appear to have been molded in the hull of some nut. At B was 


THOMAS. ] THE NELSON MOUNDS, SOUTH CAROLINA. 63 


a cubical mass of water-worn bowlders, built up solidly and symmetric- 
ally, 24 inches long, 18 inches wide, and 18 inches high, but with no 
bones, specimens of art, coal, ashes, or indications of fire on or around 
it. Many ofthe stones of the vaults and the earth immediately around 
them, on the contrary, bore unmistakable evidences of fire; in facet, 
the heat in some cases left its mark on the bones of the inclosed skele- 
tons, another indication that the flesh had been removed before burial 
here, either by previous burial or otherwise. 

Scattered through the dirt which filled the pit were small pieces of 
pottery and charcoal. The bottom and sides of the pit were so distinctly 
marked that they could be traced without difficulty. 

This mound stood about 75 yards south of the triangular burial pit 
described below. 

The T. F. Nelson triangle.—This is the name applied by Mr. Rogan to 
an ancient triangular burying ground found on the same farm as the 
mound just described and about 75 yards north of it. 

It is not a mound, but simply a burial pit in the form of a triangle, 
the two longest sides each 48 feet and the (southern) base 32 feet, in 





Fic. 26.—-Burials in the T. F. Nelson triangle, Caldwell County, North Carolina. 


which the bodies and accompanying articles were deposited and then 
covered over, but not heaped up into a mound; or, if so, it had subse- 
quently settled until on a level with the natural surface of the ground. 
The apex, which points directly north, was found to extend within 3 feet 
of the break of the bank of the Yadkin River, the height above the 
usual water-level being about 12 feet. The depth of the original exca- 
vation, the lines of which could be distinetly traced, varied from 23 to 
3 feet. A rude sketch of this triangle, showing the relative positions 
of the skeletons, is given in Fig. 26, 


64 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 


Nos. 1, 2, 3,4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 indicate the positions of single skele- 
tons found lying horizontally, on their backs, heads east and northeast. 
With No. 2 was found a broken soapstone pipe, and with Nos. 5 and 9 
one small polished celt each. 

Nos. 10, 11, 12, 15, 14, and 15 indicate the positions of skeletons in- 
closed in rude stone vaults built of cobblestones and similar to those 
in the preceding mound. (See Fig. 25.) Nos. 10, 12.15, and 15 were in 
a sitting posture, without any accompanying articles. 

Graves 11 and 14 contained each two bodies, extended horizontally, 
the lower ones, which were of smaller stature than the upper ones, face 
up and with heavy flat stones on the extended arms and legs. The 
upper ones, with face down, were resting on those below. No imple- 
ments or ornaments were found with them. 

Near No. 12 about a peck of singular, pinkish-colored earth was 
found. 





Fic. 27.—Engraved shell gorget from mound, Caldwell County, North Carolina. 


In the northwest part of the triangle (at A in Fig. 26) ten or more 
skeletons were found in one grave or group, which from the arrange- 
ment the explorers concluded must have been buried at one time; the 
“old chief” (?), or principal personage of the group, resting horizontally 
on his face, with his head northeast and feet southwest. Under his 
head was « large engraved shell gorget (Fig. 27); around his neck 
were a number of large sized shell beads, evidently the remains of a 
necklace; at the sides of the head, near the ears, were five elongate 
copper beads, or rather small cylinders, varying in length from one and 
a quarter to four and a half inches, part of the leather thong on which 
the smaller were strung yet remaining in them. These are made of 
thin pieces of copper cut into strips and then rolled together so that the 
edges meet in a straight joint on one side. (See Fig. 28.) The plate 
out of which they were made was as smooth and even in thickness as 
though it had been rolled. 


tTHomas.| ARTICLES OF COPPER AND IRON FROM MOUNDS. 65 


A piece of copper was also under his breast. His arms were par- 
tially extended, his hands resting about a foot from his head. Around 





Fic. 28.—Cylindrieal copper bead from mound, Caldwell County, North Carolina. 


each wrist were the remains of a bracelet composed of copper and shell 
beads, alternating, thus (Fig. 29): 





Fic, 29.—Bracelet of copper and shell beads, Caldwell County, North Carolina. 


At his right hand were four iron specimens, much corroded but 
still showing the form. Two of them were of uniform thickness, one 
not sharpened at the ends or edges, the other slightly sharpened at one 
end, 5 to 34 inches long, 1 to 14 inches broad, and about a quarter of an 
inch thick. The form is shown in Fig. 30. Another is 5 inches long, 





Fic. 30.—Iron celt from mound, Caldwell County, North Carolina. 


slightly tapering in width from one and an eighth to seven-eighths of 

an inch, both edges sharp; it is apparently part of the blade of a 

long, slender, cutting or thrusting weapon of some kind, as a sword, 

dagger, or knife. (Shown in Fig. 31.) The other specimen is part of a 
5 ETH——5 


66 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 


round, awl-shaped implement, a small part of the bone handle in which 
it was fixed yet remaining attached to it. 

Under his left hand was another engraved shell, the concave surface 
upward and filled with shell beads of all sizes. 

Around and over the skeleton of this chief personage, with their heads 
near his, were nine other skeletons. Under the heads of two of these 
were two engraved shells. Scattered over and between the ten skele- 
tons of the group were numerous polished celts, discoidal stones. cop- 
per arrow-points, plates of mica, lumps of paint, black lead, ete, 
























































Fic. 31.—Iron implement from mound, Caldwell County, North Carolina. 


The W. D. Jones mound.—Two miles east of Patterson, same county, 
and near the north bank of the Yadkin River, running out from a low 
ridge to the river bank, is a natural terrace about 12 feet high, with a 
level area on top of about an acre, the sides steep and abrupt. Accord- 
ing to tradition this terrace was formerly occupied by an Indian vil- 
lage. 

About 200 yards east of this, on the second river Lottom or terrace, 
was located a low, circular mound 33 feet in diameter and not more than 
1 foot high, on the land of Mr. W. D. Jones. 

This mound was found on investigation to cover a circular pit 32 feet 
in diameter and 3 feet deep, the margin and bottom being so well de- 
fined as to leave no doubt asto thelimits of the pit; in fact, the bottom, 
which was of clay, had been baked hard by fire to the depth of 2 or 3 
inches. The mound and the filling of the pit consisted of earth and loose 
yellow clay, similar to thataround it. In thismound were found tweuty- 
five skeletons and one stone heap, the relative positions of which are 
shown in Fig. 32. 

1. A “squatter,” walled in with water-worn stones, the face turned 
toward.the west; no relies. 

2. Sitting with the face toward the center; two polished celts at the 
feet, and immediately in front of the face a cylinder of hard gray mortar 
(not burned) about 5 inches long and 2 inches in diameter, with a hole 
through one end. 

3. Sitting with the face toward the center; several polished celts at 
the feet. 





— ee 


THOMAS. ] JONES MOUND, NORTH CAROLINA 67 


4. Horizontal, head southeast; several celts at the feet. 

5. Horizontal, head toward the center; several celts at the feet. 

6. Facing the center, sitting; shell beads around the neck, a Unio 
shell on top of the head, with the concave surface down, a conch shell 
(Busycon perversum) in front of the face, and celts at the fect. 

7. Sitting, facing the center; celts at the feet. 

8. Very large, lying on the left side, legs partially drawn up, walled 
in with bowlders; no implements. 


no 





Fic. 32.—W. D. Jones mound, Caldwell County, North Carolina. 


9. Horizontal, face down, head toward the center; celts and discoidal 
stones at the feet, and a pot resting, mouth down, upon the head. 

10. Horizontal, face up, feet toward the center; pot resting on the 
face, stone implements at the feet. 

11. Horizontal, head southeast, arms extended, and a bracelet of cop- 
per and shell beads around each wrist; shell beads around the neck; 
face up and food-eup (without handle) at the right side of the head. 

12. Horizontal, face up, head southeast; shell beads around the neck, 
a hook or crescent shaped piece of copper on the breast, and a soapstone 


68 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 


pipe near the face ; one hand near each side of the head, each grasping 
small, conical copper ornaments (ear-drops) and a bunch of hair. Was 
this individual, apparently a female, buried alive? 

13. Horizontal, lying on the back, head southeast; copper and shell 
beads around the neck and wrists, a hook or crescent shaped piece of 
copper on the breast, a food-cup (with handle) lying on its side with 
mouth close to the face, a pipe near the mouth, and two celts over the 
head. 

14. Horizontal, lying on the back, head northeast, arms extended; 
each hand resting on ashell which had evidently been engraved, though 
the figures are almost totally obliterated. 

15, Horizontal, on the back, head west, knees drawn up; stone im- 
plements at the feet. 

i6. Too much decayed to determine the position. 

17. Four skeletons in one grave, horizontal, heads toward the east, 
and large rocks lying on the legs below the knees; no implements. 

18. Two skeletons in one graye, heads west, faces down, knees drawn 
up; no implements. 

19. On the back, horizontal, head east; no implements. 

20, Sitting, with face toward the east, walled in, a large rock lying on 
the feet (though this may have fallen from the wall); no implements. 

21. Sitting, walled in; over the head, but under the capstone of the 
vault, a handful of flint arrow-heads. 

22. Doubled up, with the head between the feet. 

A. A solid oval-shaped mass of bowlders, 53 inches long, 22 inches 
wide, and 24 inches high, resting on the bottom of the pit. No ashes or 
other indications of fire about it. 

Fragments of pottery, mica, galena, charcoal, red and black paint, 
and stone chips were found seattered in small quantities through the 
earth which filled the pit. All the celts were more or less polished. 

R. T. Lenoir burial. pit.—This is a cireular burial pit, similar to those 
already described, but without any rounding up of the surface. It is 
located on the farm of Mr. Rufus T, Lenoir, about 9 miles northeast 
of Lenoir and nearly a mile west of Fort Defiance. 

A diagram showing the relative positions of the graves or burials is 
given in Fig. 33. 

tis on the first river terrace or bottom of Buffalo Creek and some 
200 yards from the stream, which empties into the Yadkin about half a 
mile southwest of this point. This bottom is subject to overflow in 
time of high water. 

The pit, which is 27 feet in diameter and about 34 feet deep, is almost 
a perfect circle, and well marked, the margin, which is nearly perpendic- 
ular, aud the bottom being easily traced. The dirt in this case, as in 
the others, was all thrown out. 

No. 1. A bed of charred or rather burnt bones, occupying a space 3 
feet long, 2 feet wide, andabout1footdeep. The bones wereso thoroughly 





THOM.8.] LENOIR BURIAL PIT, NORTH CAROLINA. 69 


burned that it was impossible to determine whether they were human 
or animal. Beneath this bed the yellow sand was baked to the depth 
of 2 or 3 inches. Under the bones was an uncharred shell gorget. 

No. 2. A skeleton in a sitting posture, facing northeast; a pipe near 
the mouth and a polished celt over the head. 

No, 3. Sitting, facing east, with shell beads around the neck and also 
around the arms just below the shoulders. 

No. 4. Horizontal, on the back, head east and resting on the concave 
surface of an engraved shell; a conch shell (Busycon perversum) at the 
side of the head, and copper and shell beads around the neck. 





Ss 
Fic. 33.—Plan of the R. T. Lenoir burial pit, Caldwell County, North Carolina. 


No. 5. Horizontal, head northeast; shell beads around the neck and 
two discoidal stones and one celt at the feet. 

No. 6. A communal grave, containing at least twenty-five skeletons, 
in two tiers, buried without any apparent regularity as to direction or 
relative position. Thirteen of the twenty-five were ‘“flat-heads;” that 
is, ‘the heads running back and compressed in front.” 

Seattered through this grave, between and above the skeletons, were 
polished celts, discoidal stones, shells, mica, galena, fragments of pot- 


70 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 


tery, and one whole pot. Around the neck and wrists of some of the 
skeletons were also shell beads. There may have been more than 
twenty-five individuals buried here, this, however, being the number of 
skulls observed. 

No. 7. Horizontal, on the left side, head northwest; no implements. 

No. 8. An irregular layer of water-worn stones, about 4 feet square. 
On top was a bed of charcoal 3 or 4 inches thick, on and partially im- 
bedded in which were three skeletons, but showing no indications of 
haying been in the fire. Scattered over these were discoidal stones, one 
small, saucer-shaped dish, shells (of which one is engraved), pipes, shell 
beads, and pieces of pottery. 

No. 9. A grave containing three skeletons, lying horizontally on their 
backs and side by side, the outer ones with their heads east and the 
middle one with the head west; no implements. 

No. 10. Horizontal, on the right side, head north, with stone imple- 
ments in front of the face. 

No. 11. Doubled up, top of the head south; shell beads around the 
neck azd celts at the feet. 

No. 12. A graye containing seventeen skeletons, seven of which had 
flat heads, two of the number children. Two of the adult heads were 
resting on engraved shells. 

In this grave were found four pots and two food-cups, the handle 
of one representing an owl’s head and that of the other an eagle’s head. 
One of the small pots was inside a larger one. Scattered among the 
skeletons were shell beads, polished celts, discoidal stones, paint, ete. 
None of the skeletons were inclosed in stone graves.1 

In order to convey an idea of the number of articles deposited with 
the dead in some of these burial places, I give here a list of those ob- 
tained from the pit last described: 

One stone ax. 

Forty-three polished celts. 

Nine vessels of clay. 

Thirty-two arrow-heads. 

Twenty soapstone pipes, mostly uninjured. 

Twelve discoidal stones. 

Ten rubbing stones. 

Two hammer stones. 

One broken soapstone vessel. 

Six engraved shells. 

Four shell gorgets. 

One Busycon perversum entire, and two or three broken ones. 

Five very large copper beads. 

One lot of fragments of shells, some of them engraved. 

A few rude shell pins. 





' The cireles and paralielograms in Figs. 32 and 33 have no other significance than 
to indicate the relative positions of the graves and the positions of the skeletons. 


THomas.] BURIAL PLACES, WILKES COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA. 71 


Shell beads. 

A few small copper beads. 

Specimens of paint and plumbago. 

Three skulls. 

It is evident from the foregoing descriptions that the mode of burial 
and the depositories of the dead of the mound-building tribes of this 
part of North Carolina differed in several marked and important re- 
spects from the mode of burial and burial mounds of the sections pre- 
viously alluded to, and in fact from those of any other district. 

Here the pit seems to have been the important part of the depository 
and the mound a mere adjunct. In some cases the bodies appear to 
have been buried soon after death, while in others —as, for example, the 
groups in the triangle and Lenoir burial pit—the skeletons were prob- 
ably deposited after the flesh was removed. 

We are reminded by these pits of the mode of burial practiced by 
some of the Indian tribes, as mentioned by Lafitau,! Brebeuf,? etc.; but, 
before attempting to draw conclusions, we will give other illustrations 
of the burial mounds of this district, which are far from being uniform 
in character. 

Comparatively few mounds have as yet been opened in North Caro- 
lina; hence the data relating to this region is somewhat meager. As 
bearing upon the subject, and probably relating to a period immedi- 
ately following the close of the mound-building era, I give from Mr. Ro- 
gau’s notes the description of a burial place explored by him on the 
farm of Mr. Charles Hunt, in the central part of Wilkes County : 

This is not a “burial place,” in the usual sense of that term, but is 
probably the site of a camp or temporary village. It is about three 
miles and a half east of Wilkesborough, on the second bottom or terrace of 
the Yadkin River. It differs from the burial places just described in 
having no large pit, the graves being separate and independent of each 
other. A diagram showing the relative positions of the graves and 
small pits accompanies Mr. Rogan’s report but is omitted here, although 
the numbering of the graves is retained in the description. 

No. 1 is a grave or oval-shaped pit 2 feet long and 18 inches wide, 
the top within 8 inches of the surface of the ground, while the bottom is 
24 feet below it. This contained the remains of two skeletons, which 
were surrounded by charcoal; some of the bones were considerably 
charred. In the pit were some fragments of pottery, a few flint chips, 
and a decayed tortoise shell. 

No. 2. A grave 2 feet wide, 6 feet long, and 5 feet deep. It contained 
quite a quantity of animal bones, some of them evidently those of a 
bear; also charcoal, mussel shells, and one bone implement. 





‘Meeurs des Sauvages Amériquains, IT, pp. 447-445. 

* Jesuit Relations for 1636, pp. 128-139. For a translation of the lively description 
of the burial ceremonies of the Hurons by Father Brebeuf, see ‘‘ Supplemental Note,” 
at the end of this paper. 


72 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SEC1LIONS, 


No. 3. A grave of the same size and depth as No. 2, containing ani- 
mal bones, broken pottery, and some charcoal. 

No. 4. Grave; the size. depth, and contents same as the preceding. 

No. 5. A circular pit 2 feet in diameter and 2 feet deep. This con- 
tained a very large pot, in which were some animal bones; it was on its 
side and crushed. 

No. 6. A pit 24 feet deep and 2 feet square, with a bed of charcoal in 
the bottom 6 inches deep. On this bed was a layer of flint chips, and 
on the chips a quantity of broken pottery, animal bones, a discoidal 
stone, and a bone implement. 

No. 7. A grave similar to those described. 

No. 8. A large graye, containing three skeletons, lying at full length 
upon the right side, with the heads a little east of north. Between the 
front and the middle one was a mass of mussel shells. At the head and 
back of the front one were a number of animal bones, and between it 
and the middle one, opposite the pelvis, was a large broken pot. The 
right arm of the third or back one was extended forward and up- 
ward, the left arm resting across the head, a white flint chip grasped 
in the hand. The head of this skeleton was resting on a piece “of a 
broken pot, and in front of the face, at the distance of a foot, was also 
part of a pot, containing a stone fragment and some animal bones. 
Under the legs of the three skeletons, the head extending in front of 
the legs of the third or back one, was the skeleton of a bear, and in front 
of the latter were three broken pots, containing animal bones. 

No. 9. A basin-shaped fire-bed, or bed of burnt clay, 8 inches thick. 

section of this bed is shown in Fig. 34—0), b, b, the bed of burnt 


a a 
i 


an 
VSTETT NE 


I 
















Mt 


Hutt 





il 
ul 
i 
t 


Ii 

















































































































































































































































































































==——— 


ic 


MEAT 


—= 


Fia. 34.—Fire-bed, Wilkes County, North Carolina. 


clay, 8 inches thick, the material evidently placed here and not a part 
of the original soil. The basin a was filled with ashes, to the depth of 
12 inches; the diameter, from 1 to 2, 2 feet 3 inches, from 1 to 5 and 
from 2 to 4, 1 foot 6 ache 

No. 10. A bed of mussel shells, 3 inches thick and 5 feet in diameter, 
lying on a flat bed of burnt earth 3 inebes thick. : 

No. 11. A pit 5 feet deep and 3 feet in diameter, filled with animal 
bones, mussel shells, and broken pottery. 

There was no mounding over any of these graves or pits. 


Tuomas.] MOUNDS IN BURKE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA. he 


The basin-shaped fire-bed, No. 9, reminds us very strongly of the so- 
called altars of the Ohio mounds, and may possibly assist us in arriving 
at a correct conclusion concerning these puzzling structures. 

A mound opened by Dr. J. M. Spainhour in Burke County, some 
years ago, presents some variations, though, so far as the posture and 
relative positions of the skeletons are concerned, reminding us of those 
in Caldwell County. The following extract is from the article contain- 
ing the description :! 


Digging down I struck a stone about 18 inches below the surface, which was 
found to be 18 inches long and 16 inches wide and from 2 to 3 inches in thichness, the 
corners rounded. It rested on solid earth and had been smoothed on top. 

I then made an excavation in the south of the mound, and soon struck another 
stone, which upon examination proved to be in front of the remains of a human 
skeleton in a sitting posture; the bones of the fingers of the right hand had been rest- 
ing on the stone. Near the hand was a small stone about 5 inches long, resembling 
a tomahawk or Indian hatchet. Upon a further examination many of the bones 
were found, though in a very decomposed condition, and upon exposure to the air 
they soon crumbled to pieces. The heads of the bones, a considerable portion of the 
skull, jaw-bones, teeth, neck-bones, and the vertebre were in their proper places. 
Though the weight of the earth above them had driven them down, yet the frame 
was perfect, and the bones of the head were slightly inclined toward the east. Around 
the neck were found coarse beads that seemed to be of some substance resembling 
chalk. 

A small lump of red paint, about the size of an egg, was found near the right side 
of this skeleton. From my knowledge of anatomy, the sutures of the skull would 
indicate the subject to have been twenty-five or twenty-eight years of age. The top 
of the skull was about 12 inches below the mark of the plow. . 

I made a further excavation in the west part of this mound and found another 
skeleton similar to the first, in a sitting posture, facing the last. A stone was on 
the right, on which the right hand had been resting, and on this was a tomahawk 
which had been about 7 inches in length, broken into two pieces, and much better 
finished than the first. Beads were also on the neck of this one, but were much smaller 
and of finer quality than those on the neck of the first; the material, however, seemed 
to be the same. A much larger amount of paint was found by the side of this than 
the first. The bones indicated a person of larger frame and I think of about fifty 
years of age. Everything about this one had the appearance of superiority over the 
first. The top of the skull was about 6 inches below the mark of the plow. 

I continued the examination, and after diligent search found nothing at the north 
part of the mound, but on reaching the east side found another skeleton, in the same 
posture as the others, facing the west. On the right side of this was a stone on which 
the right hand had been resting, and on the stone was also a tomahawk about 8 
inches in length, broken into three pieces, much smoother and of finer material than 
the others. Beads were also found on the neck of this, but much smaller and finer 
than on those of the others, as well as a large amount of paint. The bones would in- 
dicate a person of forty years of age. The top of the skull had been moyed by the 
plow. 

There was no appearance of hair discovered ; besides, the principal bones were 
almost entirely decomposed, and crumbled when handled. 


A complete exploration of this mound, the dimensions of which are not 
given, would possibly have shown that the skeletons were arranged 








‘Smithsonian Report, 1871, pp. 404, 405. 


74 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 


somewhat in a circle. The doctor does not state whether there was a 
pit. 

Some mounds in Henderson County, opened in 1884 by Mr. J. W. 
Emmert, who was temporarily employed by the Bureau, present some 
peculiarities worthy of notice. One of these, situated on the farm of 
Mrs. Rebecca Conner, and perfectly circular, was found to be 44 feet in 
diameter and 6 feet high; a number of small trees were growing on it. 
The annexed cut (Fig. 35) shows a vertical section of it, the dark cen. 





mil i i, Ni 
| bY ( 


| 
| UH | i, 


Fic. 35.—Section of mound, Henderson County, North Carolina, 






efi ml | 


deoowess TT 





i 





tral triangle representing a conical mass of charcoal and ashes. The 
conical mass measured 16 feet in diameter at the base and 5 feet high, 
the top reaching within 1 foot of the top of the mound, The outer por- 
tion consisted of charcoal, evidently the remains of pine poles, which 
had been placed in several layers, sloping toward the apex. The inner 
portion consisted of ashes and coals mixed with earth, m which were 
found some burnt human (?) bones, and some accompanying articles, 
among which were two stones with holes drilled through them. The 
fragments of bones and the specimens were at the base, in the center. 

A mound on the farm of Mr. J. B. Alexander, 2 miles above the one 
just described, was examined by Mr. Emmert, and found to cover a pit 
similar to those explored in Caldwell County, 

This mound was situated on an elevated level, about a quarter of a 
mile from the creek, in an old field which had been plowed over for sixty 
years. It was 2 feet high when he explored it, but the old people stated 
to him that it was formerly 10 feet high, and had a ‘‘tail” or ridge run. 
ning away from it 200 feet long ; but the only indication of this that Mr, 
Emmert could see was a strip of clay running off where it was stated 
to have been. It runs in the direction of the creek bottom, where any 
quantity of broken pottery may be picked up. The mound, which was 
30 feet In diameter and composed wholly of red clay, was entirely re- 
moved to the original surface of the ground. Nothing was found in it, 
but after reaching the surface he discovered a circular pit 12 feet in 
diameter, which had been dug to the depth of 4 feet in the solid red clay. 
This he found to be filled full of ashes and charcoal, but failed to find 
any bones or specimens in it. 

Although Mr. Emmert failed to find any evidence that this was a 
burial mound, its similarity with those of Caldwell County will, I think, 
justify us in concluding it was constructed for this purpose. 


THomas.) MOUNDS OF HENDERSON COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA. 75 


Another mound on the same farm as the one last mentioned, a cross- 
section of which is shown in Tig. 36, is of the common type, examples 
of which are found in most of the districts: diameter 52 feet and height 
9 feet ; the upper layer, No. 1, red clay, about 4 feet thick, No. 2, a thin 
layer of charcoal, about 3 inches thick; the lower stratum or central 
core, No. 3, dark-colored earth. In this lower layer were found five 
skeletons, on the natural surface and at the points indicated by the 
dots, which crumbled to pieces as soon as exposed to the air. With 
one were sixteen large, rudely made, white flint arrow-heads, so nearly 


ra al NA 
ue a a 


cil As “a 


Fic. 36.—Section of mound, Henderson Connty, North Carolina 






myst 








alike as to make it apparent they were the work of one individual, and 
with another a small pipe and some arrow-heaids. 

Passing westward over the mountains into East Tennessee, we find 
some variations inthe modes of burial, but not so widely different from 
those east of the range as to justify the belief that the authors of the 
works of the two localities were different peoples or belonged to differ- 
ent tribes. 

A burial mound opened by Mr. Emmert in n the v alley of the Holston, 
Sullivan County, deseribed by him as mound No. 1, on the north side 
of the river, was found to be 22 feet in diameter and 4 feet high. It was 
composed of red clay and sand. Digging down to the level of the sur- 
rounding ground, there was found a pile of rock in the center, which 
proved to be a burial vault built of water-worn bowlders, over a sitting 
skeleton. It was 34 feet in diameter at the base and 3 feet high. On 
the head of the skeleton was a slender, square copper spindle about 11 
inches iong and a quarter of an inch thick in the middle. 1t has evi- 
dently been hammered out with a stone hammer. Under the lower jaw 
were two small copper drills or awls, with portions of the deer-horn han- 
dies still attached. About the shoulders, one on each side, were two 
polished stones, with holes in them. Near the head was a small pile of 
flint chips, and at the knees a flint scalping knife. The bones were so 
badly decayed that but few’of them could be secured. 

Mound No. 2 was on the south side of the river, opposite No. 1 and 
about the same distance from the river. It was 38 feet in diameter and 
5 feet high, and on the top was a pine stump 14 inches in diameter. 

Mr. Emmert, in opening it, commenced at the edge to cut a ditch 4 
feet wide through it, but soon reached a wall 3 feet high, built of “ river 
rock.” He then worked around this, finding it to be an almost perfect 
circle, 14 feet in diameter, inside of which were found, on throwing out 


76 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 


the dirt, twelve stone graves or vaults, built of the same kind of stones, 
each containing a sitting skeleton, as shown in Fig. 37. One of these 
eraves or vaults was exactly in the center, the other eleven being placed 
in a circle around it, and about equally spaced, as shown in the diagram. 





Fic. 37.—Mound on Holston River, Sullivan County, Tennessee. 


In the center grave he found shell beads around the neck of the skel- 
eton, and near the mouth the pipe shown in Fig. 38. 



































Fic. 38.—Pipe from mound, Sullivan County, Tennessee. 


The bottom of the area within the circular wall was covered to the 
depth of about 3 inches with charcoal, and the graves were built on this 
layer. Both of these mounds were on the bench or upper bottom, and 
about three-fourths of a mile from the river. 


THOMAS. ] BURIALS IN EAST TENNESSEE. el 


Mr. Emmert says he learned that there was a tradition of the neigh- 
borhood that the Indians once fought a great battle at this place, and 
that one party buried some of their dead in mound No. 2, and the other 
party buried their dead on the opposite side of the river, where there 
is alarge pile or mound of “river roek.” 

He opened one of the rock mounds occurring in this region half a 
mile from the river and near the foot of the mountain. <A large tree 
had grown up through it, the stump of which was yet standing, or the 
mound had been built around it. After removing the rock and dig- 
ging up the stump, he found, at the depth of 4 feet and directly under 
the stump, two stone axes, a large number of arrow-heads, two pol- 
ished celts, and some pieces of mica. 

Another mound on the Holston River, 2 miles above the two hereto- 
fore described, was examined. This was 60 feet in diameter and 45 feet 
high. The original surface of the earth had been first covered over 
about 3 inches thick with charcoal, then the bodies or skeletons laid on 
it, and each walled up separately with river rock. These were then 
covered with black earth, over which was cast a layer of sand about 
the same thickness, the remainder being top soil. 

Mr. Emmert, who opened this, commenced cutting a ditch 4 feet 
wide, proceeding until he struck the bed of charcoal; then followed 
around the outer edge of it, finally removing all the dirt inside the cir- 
cle. One side of the circle had six skeletons in it, all walled up, as 
before stated, separately, but so thoroughly decayed that only one skull 
could be saved. 

The other side of the mound had nothing in it except a fine pipe 
which he found on the bed of coals, some 10 or 12 feet from the nearest 
skeleton; some beautiful arrow-heads, shell beads, a polished celt, and 
two small stones with holes in them were also discovered. 

In addition to the foregoing descriptions from the reports of my 
assistants, I present the following, from accounts of earlier explora- 
tions in this region: ; 

A burial mound situated on the left bank of the Tennessee River, 
about 1 mile from Chattanooga, was opened by Mr. M. O. Read in 1865. 
This was oval in form and flat on top, the diameters of the base 155 
and 120 feet, and those of the top 82 and 44 feet; height, 19 feet. Mr. 
Read says :' 

For the purpose of examination, a tunnel was excavated into the mound from 
the east, a little one side of the center and on a level with the natural surface of 
the ground. When the point directly under the outer edge of the top of the mound 
was reached, holes were found containing fragments of rotted wood showing that 
stakes or palisades had been erected here when the mound was commenced. The 
sound of the pick indicating a cavity or different material below, the excavation 
was carried downward about 2 feet, when two skeletons were uncovered, fragments 


of which preserved are marked No. 1. The bones were packed in a small space, as 
though the bodies were crowded down, without much regard to pesition of hands, 





1 Smithsonian Report 1807, p. 401. 


78 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 


into a pit not exceeding 3 feetin length. One of the skulls is of especial interest, as 
possibly indicating that the remains are those of victoms immolated in some sacri- 
ficial or burialrites. The side was crushed in, asif with aclub. I have connected 
together the pieces of the upper jaw so that they retain the position in which they 
were found, a position which cannot with probability be supposed to be the result 
of the settling of the earth around it, if unbroken when buried. The bones of the 
bodies, although so friable that they could not be preserved, were entire, in positions 
indicating that the bodies had not been dismembered and forbidding the supposition 
that they were the remains of a cannibal feast. 

The excavation was carried forward as indicated on the plat and on a level with 
the location of the skeletons first fuund. It became evident at once that the material 
of which the mound was constructed was taken from the immediate neighborhood, 
it being composed of the same alluvial soil, full of the shells found on the surface, but in 
amuch betterstate of preservation; but no arrow-heads, chippings of flints, or frag- 
ments of pottery now covering the surface were found. These would have been abun- 
dant if the mound had been erected subsequent to the manufacture of the pottery and 
arrow-heads at that place. Single fragments of pottery were found, but these were 
painted and of much better quality than those found on the surface. 

The mound was composed of alternate layers of earth and ashes, showing that a 
surface of the size of the top, when finished, was kept substantially level, and raised only 
2 to 3 feet at a time, when fires were kindled, which must have been large or con- 
tinued for.along time, as the amount of the ashes and charcoal abundantly indicates, 

Near the center of the mound rows of stake-holes were found, as far as followed, 
marking two sides of a rectangular parallelogram, which continued would have 
formed an enclosure around the center. In some of these were the remains of the 
wood and bark, not enough to show the marks of tools, if any had been used. They 
pevetrated the natural surface of the ground to the depth of about 2 feet. 

Here and at about the same level as at No. 1 were found the skeletons of which 
the skull bones and other parts are marked No.2. They were apparently the remains 
of a youngish woman and two children, all so far decomposed that only the parts sent 
could be preserved. The larger skeleton was in such a position as a person would 
take on kneeling down, then sitting upon the feet ; the hands were brought to the head 
and the body doubled down upon the knees. The head was toward the south. The 
remains of the children were found at the right side of this body, the bones mingled 
together. f 

About 2feet directly under these the skeleton of which the skull is marked No. 3 
was found, in a similar position, it is said (I was not present when it was taken out), 
with the one above it. 

I attempt no description and indulge in no speculations in regard to these remains, 
as I have decided to forward them to you for the examination of those who can com- 
pare them with other skulls and are better qualified to make a proper use of them. 
They are unquestionably of the age of the mound-builders. 


We are reminded, by the remains of upright timbers found here, of the 
wooden yaults of the Grave Creek and other mounds of West Virginia, 
but in the form of the mound we have an indication that it belongs to 
the southern class of ancient works. 

Rey. H. O. Dunning mentions! a stone-grave mound which he exam- 
ined inthe valley of the Little Tennessee. Speaking of this mound he 
remarks: 

I did not expect to find rock graves in a mound of earth, but after clearing away 


rubbish and penetrating 6 feet below the top, near the center the workman struck a 
slab of slate, which proved to be part of the covering of astone tomb. It was much like 


1 Smithsonian Report 1870, p. 378. 





a ee oe oes 


THOMAS. } STONE GRAVES IN EAST TENNESSEE 79 


those scattered over the “river bottom”—more nicely constructed, however, and fitted 
with more care, being arched over the top, at an acute angle, with pieces of slate 3 
inches thick. Owing to its situation, raised above the level of the river and covered 
with sand to the depth of 6 feet, its contents were better preserved than those of the 
graves just mentioned. At the head of it I took out a vessel of fine red clay and pul- 
verized mussel shells a foot in diameter, gourd-shaped, and having a handle and spout 
6 inches long, and holding about a quart. It was preserved nearly whole. Artificial 
fire had been kindled in the tomb, but it had been smothered by the throwing in of sand 
before all the contents were consumed. Besides some entire bones of the human skel- 
eton, flint arrow-heads and a large number of flint and stone beads were removed. 
The beads could be traced along the lines of the legs and arms, as if they had been at- 
tached to the garment in which the dead was buried. Further excavations disclosed 
two more of these stone sepulchers, the first 3 feet below the one described, the other 
2 feet from it, in the same plane. They contained only fragments of bones, charcoal, 
and ashes. 

The mound, which was conical in shape, must have been 15 feet high and 50 feet 
in diameter. Successive floods had impaired its original dimensions. The last car- 
ried away a section on the west side, exposing a tomb and some valuable relics, which 
have not been preserved. Among them were large shells, pyrulas, probably, judging 
from the description, from the Gulf of Mexico. In connection with marine shells, im- 
ages in stone were found in this tomb, The mound was composed of sand-loam taken 
from the bank of the river, and raised upon a foundation of water-washed rocks 4 feet 
high, from the bed of the stream hard by. There had been extensive burnings through- 
out this mound, at various depths, indicated by layers of charcoal, ashes, aud burned 
clay, simply in honor of the dead, or to consume their effects or mortal parts, or for 
human sacrifices to their manes. 


Speaking of stone graves in the immediate vicinity as explanatory of 
those in the mound, he says: 

They are built of slabs of slate, nicely fitted together, about 3 inches thick, 4 feet 
long, and 2 broad, enclosing receptacles not of uniform space, generally 5 feet long, 
4 feet high, and 2 broad, covered with flat pieces, resting upon the upright slabs and 
conforming to the rounded corners of the tomb. 

As one of the principal obiects in view in exploring and studying the 
mounds of our country is to ascertain, if possible, by what people or 
tribes they were built, a brief discussion of the question so far as it re- 
lates to the district now under consideration will be in place. My rea- 
sons for touching upon the topic in this connection, and limiting the dis- 
cussion to the antiquities of the one district, are as follows: 

First. The characteristics of the works of this section are so well 
marked as to leave little, if any, doubt on the mind of any one who will 
study them carefully that they are work of one people, probably of a 
single tribe. 

Second. Because in this instance I think the evidence points with at 
least reasonable certainty te the particular tribe by which they were 
erected. 

Third. Whether our second reason prove to be correct or not, we find 
data here which appear to form connecting links between the prehistoric 
and the historic times, and hence call for some discussion in regard to 
the authors. 


&0 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 


Fourth. The statement of the result of our explorations of these 
works (especially the burial mounds) will, as I conceive, be incomplete™ 
without some intimation of the bearing they have had on my own mind 
in reference to their authorship. This it is true will apply witb equal 
force to the works of other districts. I have already briefly stated my 
conclusions in this respect regarding the antiquities of Wisconsin, but 
have refrained from entering at length upon the question as to the Ohio 
and West Virginia works, as I confess and have already intimated that 
these present more difficulties in the way of explanation than most of 
the other sections. 

It may be thought premature to speculate in this direction, and some 
of our ablest scientific journals appear to deprecate any such attempts 
until more data have been obtained and the materials already collected 
are more thoroughly digested. I admit that,as avery general and 
almost universal rule, such a course is the proper one in respect to sci- 
entific investigations, but must dissent from its application in this in- 
stance, for the following reasons : 

The thought that a mighty nation once occupied the great valley of 
the Mississippi, with its frontier settlements resting on the lake shores 
and Gulf coasts, nestling in the valleys of the Appalachian Range and 
skirting the broad plains of the West, a nation with its systems of goy- 
ernment and religion, its chief ruler, its great central city, and all the 
necessary accompaniments, but which has disappeared before the in- 
roads of savage hordes, leaving behind it no evidences of its existence, 
its glory, power, and extent save these silent forest-covered remains, 
has something so fascinating and attractive in it, that when once it has 
taken possession of the mind, it warps and biases all its conclusions.! 

So strong, in fact, is the hold which this theory (in the broad sense, 
including also the Toltee and Aztee theories) has taken of the minds 
of both American and European archeologists, that it not only biases 
their conclusions, but also molds and modifies their nomenclature, and 
is thrustinto their speculations and even into their descriptions as though 
ho longer a simple theory but a conceded fact. Hence it is necessary, 
before a fair and unbiased discussion of the data can be had, to call at- 
tention to the fact that there is another side to the question. 

Unless some protestis presented or some expression of opinion is made 
on this point in my paper, the facts I give will be viewed through the 
medium of this “lost race” theory. This I desire, if possible, to pre- 
vent, and whether the “ Indian theory” proves to be correct ornot, I wish 
to obtain for it at least a fair consideration. I believe the latter theory 
to be the correct one, as the facts so far ascertained appear to point in 
that direction, buf I am not wedded toit; on the contrary, I am willing 
to follow the facts wherever they lead. 

a See, for example, Foster’s “ Prehistoric Races,” p. 97; Squier and Dayis’s, “Ancient 

Monuments,” p. 30; Baldwin’s ‘‘Ancient America,” p. 57; Bancroft’s ‘‘ Native Races,” 
Jy 385 A Conant’s ‘‘ Foot-Prints of Vanished Races,” p. 388; Marquis de Nadaillae’s 
“L’Amérique Préhistorique,” p. 155, ete. 





PHOMAS.| “WHO WERE THE MOUND-BUILDERS?” 81 


Although additional data will hereafter be obtained and many new 
and important facts be brought to light, yet, as I believe, sufficient evi- 
dence has been collected (though much of it remains unpublished) to in- 
dicate what will be the final result so far as this general question is con- 
cerned. 

We see that already the theory that these remains scattered over the 
face of our country from Dakota to Florida and from New Yorx to 
Louisiana were the work of one people, one great nation, is fast break- 
ing down before the evidence that is being produced. 

The following quotation from the last report of the Peabody Museum, 
which is repeated in substance in Science, June 27, 1884, p. 775, will 
serve not only to indicate the conflict which is going on in the minds of 
some of our most active and progressive archeologists on this subject, 
but also to show the difficulty of finding applicable and well-defined 
terms, and of clearly stating the real question at issue: 

The different periods to which the various mounds and burial places belong can only 
be made out by such a series of explorations as the museum is now conducting in the 
Little Miami Valley, and when they are completed we shall be better able to answer the 
question, ‘‘Who were the mound-builders?” than we are now. That more than one 
of the several American stocks or nations or groups of tribes built mounds seems to 
me to be established. What their connections were is not yet by any means made 
clear, and to say that they all must have been ove and the same people seems to be 
inaking a statement directly contrary to the facts, which are yearly increasing as the 
spade and pick in careful hands bring them to light. That many Indian tribes built 
mounds and earthworks is beyond doubt, but that all the mounds and earthworks of 
North America were made by these same tribes or their immediate ancestors is not 
thereby proved. 

Mr. Carr, in his recent paper published by the Kentucky Geological Survey, has 
taken up the historical side of the question, but it must not be received for more than 
he intended. He only skows from historical data what tne spade and pick have dis- 
closed to the archeologist. It is simply one sideof the shield; the other is still wait- 
ing to be turned to the light ; and as history will not help us toread the reverse, only 
patient and careful exploration will bring out its meaning.! 

This, it is true, is but an incidental paragraph thrown into a report of 
the work of the museum, but I have selected it as the latest expres- 
sion on this subject by one of our most active and practical American 
archeologists, and because it will furnish a basis for the remarks I 
desire to make on this subject. 

In order that the reader may clearly understand the particular points 
to which I shall eall attention, I will introduce here a brief review of 
the leading opinions so far presented regarding the authorship of these 
ancient works. 

It was not until about the close of the eighteenth century that the 
scientific men of the Eastern States became fully impressed with the 
fact that remarkable antiquities were to be found in our country. 

About this time President Stiles, of New Haven, Dr. Franklin, Dr. 





1 Sixteenth and Seventeenth Report Peabody Museum, p. 346, 
5 ETH 6 





82 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 


Barton, anda few other leading minds of that day, becoming thoroughly 
convinced of the existence of these antiquities, and having received de- 
scriptions ef a number of them, began to advance theories as to their 
origin. William Bartram had come to the conclusion, from personal ob- 
servation and from the statement of the Indians that “ they knew noth- 
ing of their origin,” that they belonged to the most distant antiquity. 

Dr. Franklin, in reply to the inquiry of President Stiles, suggested 
that the works in Ohio might have been constructed by De Soto in his 
wanderings. This suggestion was followed up by Noah Webster with 
an attempt to sustain it,! but he afterwards abandoned this position 
and attributed these works to Indians. 

Captain Heart, in reply to the inquiries addressed to him by Dr. Bar- 
ton, gives his opinion that the works could not have been constructed 
by De Soto and his followers, but belonged to an age preceding the dis- 
covery of America by Columbus; that they were not due to the Indians 
or their predecessors, but to a people not altogether in an uncultivated 
state, as they must have been under the subordination of law and a well- 
governed police. * 

This is probably the first clear and distinct expression of a view which 
has subsequently obtained the assent of so many of the leading writers 
on American archeology. 

About the commencement of the nineteenth century two new and im- 
portant characters appear on the stage of American archeology. These 
are Bishop Madison, of Virginia, and Rey. Thaddeus M. Harris, of Mas- 
sachusetts. 

Dr. Haven, to whose work we are indebted for reference to several of 
the facts above stated, remarks: 

Tkese two gentlemen are among the first who, uniting opportunities of personal ob- 
servation to the advantages of scientific culture, imparted to the public their impres- 
sions of western antiquities. They represent the two classes of observers whose op- 
posite views still divide the sentiment of the country ; one class seeing no evidence 
of art beyond what might be expected of existing tribes, with the simple ditterence 
of a more numerous population, and consequently better defined and more permanent 
habitations; the other finding proofs of skill and refinement, to be explained, as they 
believe, only on the supposition that a superior race,or more probably a people of 
foreign and higher civilization, once occupied the soil.* 

Bishop Madison was the representative of the first class. Dr. Har- 
ris represented that section of the second class maintaining the opinion 
that the mound-builders were Toltecs, who after leaving this region 
moved south into Mexico. 

As we find the principal theories which are held at the present day 
on this subject substantially set forth in these authorities, it is unneces- 
sary to follow up the history of the controversy except so far as is re- 
quired to notice the various modifications of the two leading opinions. 


‘Referred to by Dr. Haven, Smithsonian Contributions, VIII, p. 25. 
*Transactions of the American Philological Society, Vol, III. 
%’ Archeology of the United States, Smithsonian Covtributions, Vol. VIII, p. 31. 


THOMAS. ] “WHO WERE THE MOUND-BUILDERS?” $3 


Those holding the opinion that the Indians were not the authors of 
these works, although agreeing as to this point and hence included in 
one class, differ widely among themselves as to the people to whom they 
are to be ascribed, one section, of which, as we have seen, Dr. Harris 
may be cousidered the pioneer, holding that they were built by the 
Toltees, who, as they supposed, occupied the Mississippi Valley pre- 
vious to their appearance in the vale of Anahuace. 

Among the more recent advocates of this theory are Mr. John T. Short, 
author of “The North Americans of Antiquity;”! Dr. Dawson, in his 
“Fossil Man,” who accepts the tradition respecting the Tallegwi, but 
identifies them with the Toltecs; Rey. J. P. MacLean, author of the 
“Mound Builders” and Dr. Joseph Joues, in his ‘‘ Antiquities of Ten- 
nessee.” 

Wilson, in his ‘Prehistoric Man,” modifies this view somewhat, iook- 
ing to the region south of Mexico for the original home of the Toltecs, 
and deriving the Aztees from the mound-builders. 

Another section of this class includes those who, although rejecting 
the idea of an Indian origin, are satisfied with simply designating the 
authors of these works a “lost race,” without following the inquiry into 
the more uncertain field of racial, national, or ethnical relations. To 
this type belong a large portion of the recent authors of short articles 
and brief reports on American archeology, and quite a number of dili- 
gent workers in this field whose names are not before the world as 
authors. 

Baldwin believes that the mound-builders were Toltecs, but thinks 
they came originally from Mexico or farther south, and, occupying the 
Ohio Valley and the Gulf States, probably for centuries, were at the 
last driven southward by an influx of barbarous hordes from the more 
northern regions, and appeared again in Mexico.’ Bradford, thirty years 
previous to this, had suggested Mexico as their original home.* Lewis 
H. Morgan, on the other hand, supposes that the authors of these re- 
mains came from the Pueblo tribes of New Mexico. Dr. Foster® agrees 
substantially with Baldwin. We might include in this class a number 
of extravagant hypotheses, such as those held by Haywood, Rafinesque, 
and others among the older, as well as by a few of the more recent 
authors. 

The opposite class, holding that the mound-builders were the ances- 
tors of some one or more of the modern tribes of Indians, or of those 
found inhabiting the country at the time of its discovery, numbers 
comparatively few leading authorities among its advocates; in other 
words, the followers of Bishop Madison are far less numerous than the 
followers of Dr. Harris. The differences between the advocates of this 
view are of minor importance, and only appear when the investigation 
is carried one step further beck and the attempt is made to designate 








' Page 253. 4 American Autiquities, p. 71. 
2Vol. I, p. 353, 3d edition. 5 Prehistoric Races, p. 339. 
*Ancient America, pp. 70-75. 


S4 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 


the particular tribe, nation, people, or ethnic family to which they ap- 
pertained. 

The traditions of the Delawares, as given by Heckewelder, in his ‘ His- 
tory of the Indian Nations,” having brought upon the stage the Tallegwi, 
they are made to play a most important part in the speculations of those 
inclined to the theory of an Indian origin. As this tradition agrees very 
well with a number of facts brought to light by antiquarian and philo- 
logical researches, it has had considerable influence in shaping the con- 
clusions even of those who are not professed believers in it. 

One of the ablest early advocates of the Indian origin of these works 
was Dr. McCulloch; and his conclusions, based as they were on the 
comparatively slender data then obtainable, are remarkable not only 
for the clearness with which they are stated and the distinetness with 
which they are defined, but as being more in accordance with all the 
facts ascertained than perhaps those of any contemporary. 

Samuel G. Drake, Schooleraft, and Sir John Lubbock were also dis- 
posed to ascribe these ancient works to the Indians. But the most re- 
cent advocate of this view is Prof. Lucien Carr, of Cambridge, Massa- 
chusetts, who has presented, in a recent paper entitled “The Mounds of 
the Mississippi Valley historically considered” (contained in the Memoirs 
of the Kentucky Geological Survey), a very strong array of historical 
evidence going to show not only that the Indian tribes at the time of 
the discovery were capable of producing these works, but also that 
several of the tribes were in the habit of erecting mounds. 

3ut it is proper that we should mention an article by Dr. D. G. Brin-- 
ton in the October number, 1881, of the American Antiquarian, bearing 
upon the same subject, in which considerable historical evidence tend- 
ing to the same conclusion is given. These two papers may justly be 
considered the commencement of a rediscussion of this question, in which 
the Indians, after a long exclusion, will be readmitted as a possible fac- 
tor in the problem. 

The reader will observe from the foregoing brief review that the opin- 
ions regarding the authors of the mounds — or, as Dr. Brinton expresses 
it, “‘ the nationality of the mound-builders” —as heretofore given to the 
world, may be divided into two classes— those holding that the builders 
were “ Indians,” and those holding that they were not “Indians.” But 
the paragraph we have quoted from the Report of the Peabody Museum 
introduces other considerations, which render it necessary not only to 
define the terms used but to restate the question at issue in a more exact 
and definite form. 

What mounds? Whatearthworks? The authority quoted remarks, 
“That many Indian tribes built mounds and earthworks is beyond doubt, 
but that all the mounds and earthworks of North America were made by 
these same tribes or their immediate ancestors is not thereby proved.” 

That the term ‘“imound-builders” is as applicable to the people who 
constructed the mounds of Siberia, Japan, or elsewhere as those who 


THOMAS. | THE TERM “INDIAN.” 85 


built the tumuli of the Mississippi Valley must be admitted, but the 
term, when used in this country with reference to the mounds of this 
country, has, as is well known, been generally understood to include only 
those found in that part of the United States east of the Rocky Mount- 
ains unless otherwise stated; and Mr. Carr’s paper, to which allusion 
is made in the next sentence of the quotation, is expressly limited to 
the “mounds of the Mississippi Valley.” North America is therefore a 
broader field than is generally understood by those who enter upon the 
discussion, and I may add that “these same tribes,” unless with explicit 
definition, is a limitation claimed by no one. 

The term “Indian” is so indefinite and so variously applied that more 
or less uncertainty must ensue, unless the writer discussing this ques- 
tion makes clear the sense in which he uses it. It was probably an 
appreciation of this fact that caused the author of the report referred 
to tomake use of the terms ‘American stocks,” “nations,” and “ groups 
of tribes.” We can fully appreciate the difficulty he and all others writ- 
ing upon this subject experience from the want of an adequate and deti- 
nite nomenclature that is applicable. But his expansions in one direc- 
tion and limitations in another, in the paragraph quoted, as it seems to 
me, have left the statement of the question in worse confusion than it 
was before. 

In what sense does he use the terms ‘Indians,” “Indian, tribes,” 
“American stocks,” and “groups of tribes”? Are the cultured Central 
American and Mexican nations and the Pueblo tribes to be included or 
excluded? Professor Carr evidently proceeds upon the idea that they 
are to be excluded, and that the mounds and other ancient works of the 
Mississippi Valley are to be attributed to one or more of the American 
stocks found in possession of this region at the time of its discovery by 
Europeans. 

This I believe to be the correct view, except in this: Professor Carr 
fails to clear his work of the idea of one people, one stock, when the 
evidence is conclusive that the mound-builders were divided into tribes 
and stocks, as were the Indians when first encountered by the whites. 
Hence when I[ use the terms “ Indians,” “ Indian tribes,” and ““American 
stocks” in this connection, they are to be understood as thus limited. 

I do not claim that this use of these terms is correct, but it is not my 
intention at present to discuss the question “‘ What is the proper use of 
the indefinite term Indian?” My only object in referring to it and the 
other equivalent terms is to explain the sense in which I use them in 
this connection, because I can find no better ones. 

As thus limited the question for discussion may be stated as follows: 

Were all the mounds and other ancient works found in that part of 
the United States east of the Rocky Mountains (except such as are 
manifestly the work of Europeans of post-Columbian times) built by 
the Indians found in possession of this region at the time of its discoy- 
ery and their ancestors, or are they in part to be attributed to other 


86 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTIIERN SECTIONS. 


more civilized races or peoples, as the Aztecs, Toltecs, Pueblo tribes, or 
some lost race of which we possess no historical mention? I say in 
part, as it has loug been conceded, that some of these works are to be 
attributed to the Indians. 

If it can be shown that some of the mounds and other works of all 
the different types and classes found in the Mississippi Valley and Gulf 
States were built by Indians, or even that they were built by people in 
the same stage of culture and art and having the same customs and 
habits as the Indians of this region in the fifteenth and sixteenth centu- 
ries, we shall be justified in concluding that the rest are the work of the 
same race and of the same tribes, or those closely allied in habits, cus- 
toms.art,and culture. That here and there a single mound-building tribe 
may have become extinet or absorbed into other tribes in pre-Columbian 
times, as has been the fate of some since the discovery of the continent, 
does not alter the case, unless it be claimed that such tribes belonged to 
different ‘‘American stocks” and had reached a higher degree of culture 
than those found in this part of the continent at the time of the arrival 
of the Europeans. 

No one believes that we will ever be able to ascertain the history of 
the construction of each mound and earthwork; the utmost to be hoped 
is that we may be able to determine with satisfactory certainty that 
such and such works were built by such and such tribes. 

But one step in the investigation is to reach the general conclusion as 
to whether all classes of these remains in the region designated may 
justly be attributed to the Indians, or whether there are some types 
which must be ascribed to a different race, toa people that had attained 
a higher position in the scale of civilization than the Indians. This it 
is possible to accomplish without being able to determine conclusively 
what tribe erected any particular work. 

Nevertheless the conclusion will be strengthened by every proof that 
the works of certain sections are to be ascribed tocertain tribes or stocks. 
It is for this reason that I propose to discuss somewhat briefly the 
question of the probable authorship of the works in the Appalachian 
district. 


THE CHEROKEES PROBABLY MOUND-BUILDERS. 


In 1876, Prof. Lucien Carr, assistant curator of the Peabody Museum, 
opened a mound in Lee County, Virginia, in which he made certain dis- 
eoveries which, with the form of the mound and the historical data, led 
him to the conclusion that it was the work of the Cherokees. 

This monument, as he informs us, was a truncated oval, the level 
space on the top measuring 40 feet in length by 15 in width. 

At the distance of 8 feet from the brow of the mound, on the slope, there were 
found buried in the earth the decaying stumps of a series of cedar posts, which I 
was informed by Mr. Ely [the owner] at one time completely encircled it. He also 
told me that at every plowing he struck more or less of these posts, and, on digging 
for them, some six or seven were found at different places, and in such order as showed 
that they had been placed in the earth at regular intervals and according to a defi- 
nite plan. On the top, in the line of the greatest diameter and near the center of 
the mound, another and a larger post or column, also of cedar, was found.' 


Quoting Bartram’s description (given below) of the council house of 
the Cherokees in the town of Cowe, he coneludes, and I think correctly, 
that this mound was the site of a similar building. 

Bartram’s description is as follows : 


The Council or Town House is a large rotunda, capanle of accommodating several 
hundred people. It stands on the top of an ancient artificial mount of earth of about 
20 feet perpendicular and the rotunda on the top of if, being above 30 feet more, 
gives the whole fabric an elevation of about 60 feet from the common surface of the 
ground. But it may be proper to observe that this mount on whicb the rotunda 
stands is of a much ancienter date than the building, and perhaps was raised for an- 
other purpose. ‘The Cherokees themselves are as ignorant as we are by what people 
or for what purpose these artificial hills were raised. * * * 

The rotunda is constructed after the following manner: They first fix iu the ground 
a circular range of posts or trunks of trees, about 6 feet high, at eqnal distances, 
which are notched at top to receive into them, from one to another, a range of 
beams or wall plates. Within this is another circular order of very large and strong 
pillars, above 12 feet high, notched in like mauner at top to receive another range 
of wall-plates, and within this is yet another or third range of stronger and higher 
pillars, but fewer in number, and standing ata greater distance from each other; 
and, lastly, in the center stands a very strong pillar, which forms the pinnacle of the 
building, and to which the rafters center at top; these rafters are strengthened and 
bound together by cross-beams and laths, which sustain the roof or covering, which 
is a layer of bark neatly placed and tight enough to exclude the rain, and sometimes 
they cast a thin superficies of earth over all. 

There is but one large door, which serves at the same time to admit light from 
without and the smoke to escape when a fire is kindled; but as there is but a sinall 
fire kept, sufficient to give light at night, and that fed with dry, small, sound wood, 
divested of its bark, there is but little smoke; all around the inside of the building, 





‘Tenth Report Peabody Museum, p. 75. 2Travels, p. 365. 


88 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 


betwixt the second range of pillars and the wall, is a range of cabins or sophas con- 
sisting of two or three steps, one above or behind the other, in theatrical order, where 
the assembly sit or lean down; these sophas are covered with mats or carpets very 
curiously made with thin splits of ash or oak woyen or platted together; near the 
great pillar in the center the fire is kindled for light, near which the musicians seat 
themselves, and around about this the performers exhibit their dances and other shows 
at public festivals, which happen almost every night throughot the year. 

Irom indications, not necessary to be mentioned here, Professor Carr 
argues that the mound could not have been intended for burial pur- 
poses, but was evidently erected for the foundation of a building of 
some kind. 

In a subsequent paper,! ‘* Mounds of the Mississippi Valley,” he not 
ouly adheres to the theory advanced in the tenth report of the Pea- 
body Museum, but gives additional reasons for believing it to be true. 

Although guided by very dim and feeble rays of light I am neverthe- 
less inclined to believe that Professor Carr has succeeded in entering 
the pathway that is to lead to a correct solution of the problem in this 
case. Asis apparent from what has been given in this paper regard- 
ing the burial mounds of this district, much additional data bearing on 
the point have been obtained since Professor Carr’s explorations were 
made, on which he bases his conclusions. 

The Cherokee tribe has long been a puzzling factor to students of 
ethnology and North American languages. Whether to be considered 
an abnormal offshoot from one of the well-known Indian stocks or fam- 
ilies of North America, or the remnant of some undetermined or almost 
extinct family which has merged into another, appear to be questions 
yet unsettled; but they are questions which do not trouble us in the 
present inquiry ; on the contrary, their ethnic isolation and tribal char- 
acteristics are aids in the investigation. 

That the internal arrangement of the mounds, modes of buriai, and 
vestiges of art of this district present sufficient peculiarities to distin- 
guish them from the mounds, modes of burial, and vestiges of art of all 
the other districts, as I have already stated, will be conceded by any one 
who will carefully study them and make the comparison. If, therefore, 
it be admitted, as stated, that the Cherokees are a somewhat peculiar 
people, an abnormal tribe, we have in this a coincidence worthy of note, 
if strengthened by corroborating testimony. 

As the mounds and other remains to be referred to are located in the 
northwest part of North Carolina and the northern part of Kast Ten- 
nessee, the first point to be established is that the Cherokees did actu- 
ally, at some time, occupy this region, 

In the first place, it is well known that they claimed all that portion 
of the country east of Clinch River to and including the northwest part 
of North Carolina, at least to the Yadkin, a claim which was conceded 
by the whites and acted on officially by State and national authority 
and denied by no Indian tribe. 


‘1 Memoirs of the Kentucky Geological Survey, Vol. IL. 


vHOMAS. ] THE CHEROKEES AS MOUND-BUILDERS. 89 


Haywood expressly states that'— 


the Cherokees were firmly established on the Tennessee River or Hogohega [the 
Holston] before the year 1650, and had dominion over all the country on the east 
side of the Alleghany Mountains, which includes the headwaters of the Yadkin, Ca- 
tawba, Broad River, and the headwaters of the Savannah — 

a statement borne out by the fact that, as late as 1756, when the En- 
glish built Fort Dobbs on the Yadkin, not far from Salisbury, they 
first obtained the privilege of doing so by. treaty with Attacullacalla, 
the Cherokee chief. 

Haywood asserts,’ upon what authority is not known, that — 
before the year 1690 the Cherokees, who were once settled on the Appomattox River, 
in the neighborhood of Monticello, left their former abodes and came to the west. 
The Powhataus are said by their descendants to have been once a part of this nation, 
The probability is that migration took place about, or soon after, the year 1632, when 
the Virginians suddenly and unexpectedly fell upon the Indians, killing all they 
could find, cutting up and destroying their crops, and causing great numbers to per- 
ish by famine. They came to New River and made a temporary settlement, and also 
on the head of the Holston. 

That they formerly had settlements on New River (Upper Kanawha) 
and on the Holston is, as I believe, true, but that they came from the 
vicinity of Monticello and the Appomattox River, were connected with 
the Powhatans, or first appeared in Tennessee in 1632, cannot be be- 
lieved. First, because Jefferson makes no mention of their occu- 
pancy of this part of Virginia; on the contrary, he locates them in the 
“western part of North Carolina.” Secondly, because John Lederer, 
who visited this region in 1669~70, speaking of the Indians of the 
“Apalatean Mountains,” doubtless the Cherokees, as he was at that 
time somewhere in western North Carolina, says: ‘The Indians of 
these parts are none of those which the English removed from Virginia; 
these were far more rude. and barbarous, feeding only upon raw flesh 
and fish, until these taught them to sow corn and showed them the use 
of it.“ Thirdly, because it is evident that they were located in sub- 
stantially the same territory when De Soto passed through the northern 
part of Georgia, as it is now admitted that the ‘“ Chelaques” or ‘*Acha- 
laques” mentioned by the chroniclers of his ill-starred expedition were 
the Cherokees. That they extended their territory a considerable dis- 
tance farther southward after the time of the Adelantado’s visit can be 
easily demonstrated, but it is unnecessary for me to present the proof 
of this assertion at this time, as I presume it will be admitted. 

Their traditions in regard to their migrations are uncertain and some- 
what conflicting, stilithere are a fewitems to be gleaned from them, 
which, I think, may be relied upon as pointing in the proper direc. 
tion. The first is, the positive statement that they formerly had a 





‘Natural and Aboriginal History of Tennessee, p. 225. 
‘Ramsey. Annals of Tennessee, p. 51. 

®’Natural and Aboriginal History of Tennessee, p. 223. 
+ Discoveries. ete., p. 3, London edition, 1672. 


90 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 


settlement, or were settled on or near the Nolichucky; the second is, 
that they were driven from some more northern section by their ene- 
mies; and third, their constant and persistent claim that, of right, 
the country about the headwaters of the Holston and eastward into 
North Carolina belonged to them. 

From all the light, therefore, that I can obtain on this subject, Tam 
satisfied the Cherokees had at some time in the past moved south- 
ward from a more northern location than that which they were found 
occupying when first encountered by the whites. ‘Lhis corresponds with 
one of their traditions given by Haywood, that they formerly dwelt 
on the Ohio and built the mounds there. That they did at one time 
actually oceupy the section in which the mounds we allude to are situ- 
ated cannot be doubted. 

Turning now to the mounds of Kast Tennessee and North Carolina, 
to which allusion has been made, let us see what testimony they furnish 
on the point now under discussion. 

The particular works to which we refer are those located in Caldwell 
County, North Carolina, and Sullivan County, East Tennessee, deserip- 
tions of which have been given. 

Although we cannot say positively that no other tribe occupied this 
particular section between 1540 and 1690, still the evidence and indi- 
cations leading to that conclusion are so strong as to justify us in assum- 
ingit. We find their frontiers on the borders of Georgia in 1540; we can 
trace back their settlements on the Hiawassee to a period preceding 1652. 
We have evidence that the settlements on the Little Tennessee were 
still older, and that even these were made subsequent to those on the 
Nolichucky. We have their own tradition, as given by Lederer, that 
they migrated to this region about the close of the thirteenth century 
from a more northern section; and, finally, their uniform and persistent 
statement, from the time first encountered by Europeans, that when 
they came to this region they found it uninhabited, with the exception 
of a Creek settlement on the lower Hiawassee. This clearly indicates 
amovement southward, a fact of much importance in the study of this 
somewhat abnormal tribe. . 

If, therefore, we can show that these mounds, or any of the typical 
ones, were constructed since the discovery of America, we have good 
reason to believe that they are to be attributed to the Cherokees, not- 
withstanding their statement to Bartram that they did not build the 
one at Cowe. 

At the bottom of one of the largest mounds found in this region, the 
T. F. Nelson triangle heretofore described, and by the side of the skel- 
eton of the principal personage interred in it, as shown by the arrange- 
ment of the bodies of those buried with him, and by the ornaments and 
implements found with him, were discovered tuiree pieces of iron. That 
one of the pieces, at least, is part of an implement of Huropean manu- 
facture, I think no one who examines it will doubt (see Fig. 31). It ap- 


THOMAS. ] THE CHEROKEES AS MOUND-BUILDERS. 91 


pears to be part of a sword blade or the blade of a large knife. Another 
of the pieces is apparently a large awl or punch, a part of the deer-horn 
handle yet remaining attached to it. A chemical examination made by 
Professor Clarke, chemist of the United States Geological Surv ey, 
shows that these were not made of meteoric iron. 

That these cannot be attributed to an intrusive burial is evident from 
the following facts: First, they were found at the very bottom of the 
pit, which had been dug before depositing the bodies ; second, they were 
found with engraved shells, celts, and other relies of this character; and 
third, they were deposited with the principal personage who had been 
buried in the mound. 

In the same mound and under the same circumstances some large 
copper beads or cylinders were also found. A careful examination of 
these specimens shows, as I think very clearly, that the copper plate 
of which they were made was not manufactured by any means at the 
command of the Indians or the more civilized races of Mexico or Cen- 
tral America, as it is as smooth and even as any rolled copper; more- 
over, the beads appear to have been cut into the proper shape by some 
metallic instrument. If this supposition be correct (and I believe an 
inspection of the specimens will satisfy any one that it is), it certainly 
indicates contact with civilized people. If so, then we have positive 
proof that this mound was made subsequent to the discover y of Amer- 
ica by Columbus and in all probability after the date of De Soto’s expe- 
dition in 1540. 

As I have shown that the Cherokees alone inhabited this particular 
section from the time of De Soto’s expedition until it was settled by 
the whites, it follows that if the mound was built subsequent to that 
date it must have been by the Cherokees. The nearest neighbors of 
this tribe on the east, at the time the whites came in contact with them, 
were the Tusearoras. We learn from John Lederer, who visited them 
in 1670, on his return from the Cherokee country, that they were in the 
habit of decking themselves very fine with pieces of bright copper in 
their hair and ears and about their neck, which, upon festival occasions, 
they use as an extraordinary bravery.”! While it is well known that 
these two tribes were brought into contact with each other through being 
constantly at war, until the later removed to the north and joined the 
Five Nations, it is more likely that these articles of European workman- 
ship were obtained chiefly from the Spaniards, who, as is now known, 
worked the gold mines in northern Georgia at an early date. We learn 
from Barcia’s “Ensayo Cronologico”? that Tristan de Luna, who, in 
1559, went in search of the mines of ‘‘Coza” (the name by which the 
region of northern Georgia was then known), succeeded in reaching 
the region sought, and even heard, while there, of the negro Robles, 
who was left behind by De Soto. When John Lederer reached the 
os of Cente the Spaniards were then at work at these mines, 





' Discoveries, eqn bition p- x0. oPaeen 33-39, 


92 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS 


which fact, as he informs us, checked his further advance, as he feared 
he might be made a captive by them. As further and conclusive evi- 
dence of this, we have only to state that the remains of their cabins in 
the vicinity of the mines were found in 1834 with trees from 2 to 3 feet 
in diameter growing over them. The old shafts were discovered in 
which they worked, as also some of the machinery they used.! Be 
this supposition correct or not, if the articles we have mentioned were 
of European workmanship, or if the material was obtained of civilized 
people, we must take for granted, until evidence to the contrary is pro- 
duced, that the mound in which they were found was built after the 
commencement of the sixteenth century, hence by Indians, and in all 
probability by the Cherokees. 2 

Our next argument is the discovery in the ancient works of this region 
of evidences that the habits and customs of the builders were similar 
to those of the Cherokees and some of the immediately surrounding 
tribes. 

T have already alluded to the evidence found in the mound opened by 
Professor Carr, that it had once supported a building similar to the 
council house observed by Bartram on a mound at the old Cherokee 
town, Cowe. Both were on mounds, both were circular, both were 
built on posts set in the ground at equal distances from each other, and 
each had a central pillar. 

As confirming this statement of Bartram, we are informed in Ram- 
sey’s Annals of Tennessee? that when Colonel Christian marched 
against the Cherokee towns, in 1776, he found in the center of each “a 
circular tower rudely built and covered with dirt, 50 feet in diameter, 
and about 20 feet high. This tower was used as acouncil house and as 
a place for celebrating the green-corn dance and other national cere- 
monials.” Lawson, who traveled through North Carolina in 1700, says :* 
“They [the Indians] oftentimes make of this shell [alluding to a cer- 
tain large sea shell] a sort of gorge, which they wear about their neck 
in a string, soit hangs on their collar, whereon is sometimes engraven a 
cross or some odd sort of figure which comes next in their fancy.” Bev- 
erly, speaking of the Indians of Virginia, says:* ‘‘ Of this shell they 
also make round tablets of about 4 inches in diameter, which they pol- 
ish as smooth as the other, and sometimes they etch or grave thereon 
circles, stars, a half-moon, or any other figure, suitable to their fancy.” 

Now it so happens that, in the same mound in which the iron speci- 
mens before alluded to were found, and in other mounds in the same 
section, the Bureau assistants discovered shell ornaments precisely of 
the character described by these old writers. Some of them were smooth 
and without any devices engraved on them, but with holes for insert- 


' Jones, Southern Indians, p. 18. 
2 Page 169. 

* History of Carolina, Raleigh, reprint, 1850, p. 315, 
+ History of Virginia, London, 1705, p. 58. 


THOMAS. THE CHEROKEES AS MOUND-BUILDERS. ed 


ing the strings by which they were to be held in position ; others were 
engraved with figures which would readily be taken for stars and half. 
moons, and one among the number had a cross engraved on it. The 
testimony in this case that these relics were the work of the Indians 
found in possession of the country at the time of the discovery is, there- 
_fore, too strong to be put aside by mere conjectures or inferences. If 
the work of the Indians, then they must have been used by the Chero- 
kees and buried with their dead. The engraved figures are strangely 
uniform, indicating some common origin, but the attempt to trace this 
is fortran to our present purpose. In ee mounds were found a large 
number of nicely carved soapstone pipes, usually with the stem made 
in connection with the bowl, though some were without this addition, 
consisting only of the bowl, with a hole for the insertion of a cane or 
wooden stem. 

By turning to Adair’s “History of the North American Indians,” ! 
we find the following statement: 

They [the Indians] make beautiful stone pipes, and the Cherokees the best of any 
of the Indians, for their mountainous country contains many different sorts and colors 
of soils proper for such uses. They easily form them with their tomahawks, and 
afterwards finish them in any desired form with their knives, the pipes being of a 
very soft quality till they are smoked with and used with the fire, when they become 
quite hard. They are often a full span long, and the bowls are about half as long 
again as those of our English pipes. The fore part of each commonly runs out, with 
a sharp peak two or three fingers broad and a quarter of an inch thick. 

Not only were pipes made of soapstone found in these mounds, but 
two or three were obtained precisely of the form mentioned by Adair, 
with the fore part running out in front of the bowl; and another of the 

same form has been found in 2 ae on the Kanawha, which is at 
least suggestive. Jones says: 

It has been more than hinted by at least one person whose statement 1s entitled to 
every belief, that among the Cherokees dwelling in the mountains there existed 
certain artists whose professed occupation was the manufacture of stone pipes, which 
were by them transported to the coast and there bartered away for articles of use 
and ornament foreign to and highly esteemed among the members of their own tribe. 

This not only strengthens our conclusion, drawn from the presence 
of such pipes in the mounds alluded to, but may also assist in explain- 
ing the presence of the copper ornaments in them. The writer last 
quoted says:* 

Copper implements are rarely found in Georgia. The present [a copper ax} is the 
finest specimen which, after no mean search, has rewarded our investigations. Na- 
tive copper exists in portions of Cherokee Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and 
Alabama, but it is generally found in combination with sulphur and not in malleable 
form. We are not aware of any locality among those enumerated whence the In- 


dians could haye secured that metal either in quantity or purity sufficient to have 
enabled them to manufacture this ump loment: 








' Page 423, naan of bie Boauen ititians p- 400. *Page 228, 


94 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 


Adair says :! 

From the time we supplied them with our European ornaments they have used 
brass and silver ear-rings and finger-rings ; the young warriors now frequently fasten 
bell-buttons or pieces of tinkling brass to their moccasins. 

From these facts I am inclined to believe that most of the copper used 
by them was obtained directly or indirectly from the whites, and hence 
subsequent to the discovery of America. But should this supposition 
be erroneous, the fact still remains that the Cherokees were in the habit 
of using just such ornaments as we find in these mounds. 

As showing that the Europeans began to trade copper to the Indians 
at a very early day, I call attention to a statement made by Beverly in 
his ‘‘ History of Virginia.”? Speaking of a settlement made at Pow- 
hatan, six miles below the falls of James River, in 1609, he says it was 
“bought of Powhatan for a certain quantity of copper.” 

By reference to Smith’s History and the narratives of the early ex- 
plorers we find that the amount of sheet copper traded to the Indians 
and taken by them from wrecks was quite large. 

But we are not yet through with the items under this class of testi- 
mony. 

Haywood, in his ‘Natural and Aboriginal History of Tennessee,” 
says: 

Mr. Brown, a Scotchman, came into the Cherokee Nation in the year 1761 and settled 
onthe Hiawassee River or nearit. Hesawon the Hiawassee and Tennessee the remains 
of old forts, about which were axes, guns, hoes, and other metallic utensils, The In- 
dians at that time told him that the French had formerly been there ard built these 
forts. 

Tan fully aware that this author indulges in some extravagant spec- 
ulations; still, so far as I have tested his original statements I have 
generally found them correct. During the year 1883 one of the assist- 
ants of the Bureau was sent to this particular region, which is too 
limited to allow the question of locality to be raised. An overflow and 
a change in the channel of the river brought to light the remains of old 
habitations and numerous relics of the people who formerly dwelt there. 
Moreover, this was in the precise locality where tradition located a 
Cherokee town. Digging was resorted to in order to complete what 
the water had begun. j 

Now let me mention some of the things obtained here : 

Ten discoidal stones, precisely like those from the mounds of Cald- 
well County, North Carolina. 

Nine strings of glass beads. 

A large number of shell beads exactly like those from the mounds. 

A number of flint arrow-points. 

One soapstone pipe. 

Some pieces of smooth sheet-copper. 








‘History of North America. ?Page 19. 5 Page 324, 


THOMAS. THE CHEROKEES AS MOUND-BUILDERS. 95 


Three conical copper ear-pendants. 

Three buttons of modern type. 

One small brass gouge. 

Fragments of iron articles belonging to a bridle. 

One bronze sleigh-bell. 

One stone awl or drill. 

Fragment of a soapstone pot. 

One soapstone gorget. 

Several polished stone celts of the same pattern as those found in the 
North Carolina mounds. 

Grooved stone axes. 

A piece of sheet lead. 

This admixture of articles of civilized and savage life confirms the 
statement made by Haywood, at least so far as regards the early 
presence of white people in this section. It follows from what has been 
presented that the Indians must have been Cherokees, and the fact that 
the implements and ornaments of aboriginal manufacture found here 
are throughout precisely like those found in the mounds before men- 
tioned affords a very strong proof that they were built by the Chero- 
kees. 

It is worthy of notice that close by the side of this washout stands 
amound. Permission to open it has not yet been obtained. 

teturning to our mounds, we note that a large number of stones, evi- 
dently used for cracking nuts, were found in and about them; some 
charred acorns, or nuts of some kind, were also found in them. We 
have only to refer to Adair and other early writers to see how well the 
indications agree with the customs of the Cherokees. 

According to the Cherokee tradition, they founda settlement of Creeks 
on the Lower Hiawassee, when they reached that region, and drove 
them away. Ramsay expresses the opinion in his Annals of Tennes- 
see, on what authority is not known, that this was a Uchee settlement. 
Hence the southern boundary of their possessions, at this early date, 
which must have been before the time of De Soto’s expedition, was 
about the present northern boundary of Georgia. That their borders, 
at the time of De Soto’s march, extended into northeastern Georgia is 
proved by the chroniclers of his expedition, but that they did not reach 
as far south as Bartow County can be shown from one somewhat sin- 
gular circumstance, which, at the same time, will furnish strong reasons 
for believing that the authors of the works immediately south of this 
boundary could not have built the mounds we have been considering. 

It will be admitted, I presume, by every one, that the people over 
whom the famous cacique of Cutifachiqui reigned could not have been 
Cherokees; yet her territory included Xuala, probably in Nacoochee 
valley, and extended westward well toward Guaxule on the headwaters 
of the Coosa, but that the latter was not within the territory of her tribe 
is expressly stated by Garcilasso de la Vega. I think it may be safely 
assumed that her people were Creeks; and, if so, that the people of 


96 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 


Guaxule, who, as we judge from the chroniclers of De Soto’s expedi- 
tion, were mound-builders, belonged to another distinct tribe. 

Garcilasso, who is our authority in reference to the first point now to 
be considered, says: 

La casa estava en un cerro alto, como de otras semejantes hemos dicho. Tenia 

_toda ella al derredor un paseadero que podian pasearse por el seis hombres juntos.! 
The house was on a high hill (mound) similar to others we have already mentioned. 
It had all round about it a roadway on which six men could walk abreast. 

This language is peculiar, and, so far as Iam aware, can apply to no 
other mound in Georgia than the large one near Cartersville. The 
words ‘similar to others we have mentioned,” are evidently intended 
to signify that it was artificial, and this is conceded by all who have 
noted the passage. The word “alto” (high), in the mouth of the ex- 
plorers, indicates something more elevated than the ordinary mounds. 
The roadway or passageway (paseadero) “round about it” is peculiar, 
and is the only mention of the kind by either of the three chroniclers. 
How is it to be explained ? 

As Garcilasso wrote from information and not from personal observa- 
tion he often failed to catch from his informants a correct notion of the 
things described to him; this is frequently apparent in his work where 
there is no reason to attribute it to his vivid imagination. In this case 
it is clear he understood there was a terrace running entirely around 
the mound, or possibly a roadway around the top outside of a rampart 
or stockade. 

But as neither conclusion could have been correct, as no such terrace 
has been found in any part of this region, and a walk around the sum- 
mit would have thwarted the very design they had in view in building 
the mound, what was it Garcilasso’s informants saw? C.C. Jones says 
a terrace,” but it is scarcely possible that any terrace at the end or 
side of a southern mound, forming an apron-like extension (which is 
the only form found there), could have been so described as to convey 
the idea of a roadway, as the mode of estimating the width shows 
ciearly was intended. 

The broad way winding around and up the side of the Etowah mound 
(Fig. 39) appears to answer the description better than any other in 


a ted 1) eee 
wo « ~ 





Fic, 39.—Large mound of Etowah group, Bartow County, Georgia. 


Georgia. It is a large mound, high, and one that would doubtless at- 
tract the attention of the Spanish soldiers; its dimensions indicate that 





' History of Florida, edition 1723, Lib. III, Cap. XX, p. 139, and edition of 1605. _ 


a 


THOMAS. | ETOWAH MOUNDS, GEORGIA. 97 


the tribe by which it was built was strong in numbers and might easily 
send forth five hundred warriors to greet the Spaniards. The locality 
is also within the limits of De Soto’s route as given by the best author- 
ities; and lastly, there is no other mound within the possible limits of 
his route which will in any respect answer the description. As Garcil- 
lasso must have learned of this mound from his informants, and has de- 
seribed it according to the impression conveyed to his mind, we are 
justified in accepting it as a statement of fact. Iam, therefore, satis- 
fied that the work alluded to is none other than the Etowah mound 
near Cartersville, Georgia, and that here we can point to the spot where 
the unfortunate Adelantado rested his weary limbs and where the em- 
bassadors of the noted eacique of Cutifachiqui delivered their final 
message. 

Recently the smallest of the three large mounds of this group was 
opened and carefully explored by Mr. Rogan, one of the Bureau assist- 
ants. As the result will be of much interest to archeologists aside 
from the question now under discussion, although belonging to the 
Southern type of burial mounds not discussed in this paper, I will 
venture to give a description of its construction and contents as a means 
of comparison and as also bearing somewhat on the immediate question 
under discussion. This mound is the one marked ¢ in Jones’s plate ;! 
also ¢ in Colonel Whittlesey’s figure 2.2. A vertical section of it is given 

















Fic. 40.—Vertical section, small mound, same group. 


in Fig. 40. The measurements, as ascertained by Mr. Rogan, are as fol- 
lows: Average diameter at the base, 120 feet ; diameter of the level top, 
60 feet; height above the original surface of the ground, 16 feet. The 
form is more nearly that of a truncated cone than represented in the 
figures alluded to. 

The construction was found, by very thorough excavation, to be as 
follows: the entire surrounding slope (No. 4, Fig. 40) was of hard, tough 
red clay, which could not have been obtained nearer than half a mile; 
the cylindrical core, 60 feet in diameter and extending down to the 
original surface of the ground, was composed of three horizontal layers; 
the bottom layer (No. 1) 10 feet thick, of rich, dark, and rather loose 
loam; the next (No. 2) 4 feet thick, of hard, beaten (or tramped) clay, 

| Jones's Antiquities of the Southern Indians, Chap. Vi, Pl: 
* Smithsonian Report 1880, p. 624. 
5 ETH 7 








98 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 


so tough and hard that it was difficult to penetrate it even with a pick; 
and the uppermost (No. 3) of sand and surface soil between 1 and 2 
feet thick. A trench was dug from opposite sides to the central core; 
and when the arrangement was ascertained, this central portion was 
carefully explored to the original surface of the ground. 

Nothing was found in the layer of clay (No. 2) except a rude clay 
pipe, some small shell beads, a piece of mica, and a chunkee stone. The 
burials were all in the lower layer (No. 1), of dark rich loam, and chiefly 
in stone cists or coffins of the usual box-shape, formed of stone slabs, 
and distributed horizontally, as shown in Fig. 41, which is a plan of 
this lower bed. 

According to Mr. Rogan’s field-notes, the form and contents of these 
graves and the mode of burial in them were as follows: 

Grave a, Fig. 41.—A stone sepulcher, 25 feet wide, 8 feet long, and 
2 feet deep, formed by placing steatite slabs on edge at the sides and 


N 





Fic. 41.—Plan of burials in small mound. 


ends, and others across the top. The bottom consisted simply of earth 
hardened by fire. It contained the remains of a single skeleton, lying 
on its back, with the head east. The frame was heavy and about 7 feet 
long. The head was resting on a thin copper plate, ornamented with 
stamped figures; but the skull was crushed and the plate injured by 
fallen slabs. Under the copper were the remains of a skin of some 
kind; and under this, coarse matting, probably of split cane. The skin 
and matting were both so rotten that they could be secured only in frag- 


THOMAS. | ETOWAH MOUNDS, GEORGIA. 99 


ments. At the left of the feet were two clay vessels, one a water-bottle, 
and the other a very small vase. On the right of the feet were some 
mussel and sea-shells; and immediately under the feet two conch-shelis 
(Busycon perversum), partially filled with small shell beads. Around each 
ankle was a strand of similar beads. The bones and must of the shells 
were so far decomposed that they could not be saved. 

Grave b.—A stone sepulcher, 44 feet long, 2 feet wide, and 13 feet 
deep, differing from a only in size and the fact that the bottom was 
covered with stone slabs. The skeleton was extended on the back, 
head east. On the forehead was a thin plate of copper, the only article 
found. 

Grave ¢.—A stone sepulcher, 34 feet long, 14 feet wide, and 14 deep; 
the bottom being formed of burnt earth. Although extending east 
and west, as shown in the figure, the bones had probably been interred 
without regard to order and disconnected, the head being found in 
the northeast corner with face to the wall and the remaining portion 
of the skeleton in a promiscuous heap. Yet there was no indication of 
disturbance after burial as the coffin was intact. Between some of the 
bones was found a thin plate of copper that had been formed by uniting 
and riveting together smaller sections. Some of the bones found in 
this grave were saved. 

Grave d.—A_ small sepulcher, 15 feet square by 1 foot deep, con- 
tained the remains of an infant, also a few small shell beads. The 
slabs forming the sides and bottom of this grave bore very distinct 
marks of fire. 

Grave e.—Simply a headstone and footstone, with the skeleton of 
a very small child between them; head east. On the wrists were some 
very small shell beads. The earth on the north and south sides had 
been hardened in order to form the walls. 

Grave f/—Stone sepulcher, 6 feet long, 3 feet wide, and 13 feet deep, 
with stone in the bottom; skeleton with the head north. There was 
a lot of copper about the head, which, together with the skeleton, was 
wrapped in a skin. The head rested on a large conch-shell (Busycon 
perversum), and this on the remains of a coarse mat. Shell beads were 
found around the neck, each wrist, and ankle. On the right was a 
small cup, and on the breast an engraved shell. The copper had pre- 
served a portion of the hair, which was saved ; portions of the skin and 
matting were also secured. z 

Immediately under v was another stone grave or coffin, 3 feet long, 
1} feet wide, and as deep, extending north and south. The head of 
the skeleton was toward the north, but the feet were doubled back un- 
der the frame in order to get it in the allotted space. The only things 
found with this skeleton were some beads around the neck. 

At g the remains of a child were found without any stones about 
them. Some shell beads were around the neck and wrists and an en- 
grayed shell on the breast. 


109 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 


Grave h.—A stone sepulcher, 14 feet square and 1 foot deep, stone 
slabs on the four sides and top; the bottom consisted simply of 
earth hardened by fire. This contained only a trace of bones and pre- 
sented indications of at least partial cremation, as all around the slabs, 
outside and inside, was a solid mass of charcoal and the earth was 
burned to the depth of a foot. 





Fic. 42.—Copper plate from Etowah mound, Georgia. 


Grave 7.—A stone sepulcher, 44 feet long, 14 feet wide, and as deep, 
the bottom earth ; contained the remains of a skeleton resting on the back, 
head north, and feet doubled back so as to come within the coffin. On 
the breast was a thin plate of copper, five inches square, with a hole 
through the center. Around the wrists were beads, and about the 
neck rather more than a quart of the same. 

At j were the remains of a small child, without stone surroundings ; 


THOMAS. | COPPER PLATES KROM ETOWAH MOUND. 101 


under the head wasa piece of copper, and about the neck and wrists 
were shell beads. 

These graves were not all on the same level ; the top of some being but 
two feet below the clay bed (No. 2), while others were from two to three 
feet lower. 

All the articles obtained in this mound were forwarded at once to 
the Bureau of Ethnology and are now in the National Museum. Ex- 
amining them somewhat carefully since their reception, I find there are 





Fic. 43.—Copper plate from Etowah mound, Georgia. 


really more copper plates among them than Mr. Rogan supposed, the 
number and description being as follows: 

1. A human figure with wings, represented in Fig. 42. This is 13 
inches long and 9 inches wide. A portion of the lower part, as shown 
by the figure, is wanting, probably some 3 or4inches. There is a break 
across the middle, but not sufficient to interfere with tracing out the 
design. A crown piece to the head ornament is also wanting. 

2. Also a human figure, shown in Fig. 43. Length, 16 inches; width, 
74 inches. 


102 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SE: TIONS. 


3. Figure of a bird; this isimperfect, as part of the head and the outer 
margin of the wings are wanting. Length, 154inches; width 74 inches. 
This plate shows indubitable evidence of having been formed of smaller 
pieces welded together, as the overlapping portions can be easily traced. 
It has also undergone repairs: a fracture commencing on the left mar- 
gin and running irregularly half-way across the body has been mended 
by placing a strip of copper along it on the under side and riveting it 
to the main plate; a small piece has also been riveted to the head and 
the head to the body ; several other pieces are attached in the same 
way. The rivets are small and the work is neatly done. 

4, An ornament or badge of some kind, shown in Fig. 44. The two 
crescent-shaped pieces are entirely plain, except some slightly impressed 
lines on the portion connecting them with the central stem. This cen- 
tral stem, throughout its entire length and to the width of six-tenths of 





Fic. 44.—Copper badge, from Etowah mound, Georgia. 


an inch, is raised, and cross strips are placed at various points along 
the under side for the purpose of inserting a slip of bone, a part of 
which yet remains in it, and is seen in the figure at the break imme- 
diately below the point where the oblique strips meet. This specimen 
presents, as I believe, indubitable evidence that the workmen who 
formed it made use ef metallic tools, as the cutting in this case could 
not possibly have been done with anything except a metallic implement. 
A single glance atit is sufficient to satisfy any one of the truth of this 
assertion. Length of the stem, 9 inches ; width across the crescents, 74 
inches. 

5. Part of an ornament similar to No.4. These plates, especially No. 4, 
appear to be enlarged patterns of that seen behind the head of Fig. 43. 


THOMAS. ] ENGRAVED SHELLS FROM ETOWAII MOUND. — 103 


6. An ornament or badge, shown in Fig. 45, which Mr. Rogan, when 
he found it under the head of the skeleton in grave a, was inclined to 
consider a crown. It is imperfect, a narrow strip across the middle and 
a portion of the tip being missing. As shown in the figure, it measures 





Fic. 45.—Copper badge, from Etowah mound, Georgia. 


around the outer border 19 inches and across the broad end 34 inches. 
The six holes at the larger end, in which the remains of strings can be 
detected, indicate that when in use it was attached to some portion of 
the dress or fastened on a staff. 





Fic, 46.—Engraved shell from Etowah mound, Georgia. 


7. A fragment from the larger end of a piece similar to the preceding. 
Attached to this is a piece of cloth. 


104 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 


In addition to the foregoing, there are a number of small fragments 
probably broken from these plates, but, so far, I have been unable to fit 
them to their proper places. 

These plates and the ones mentioned below are very thin, and as 
even and smooth (except as interrupted by the figures) as tin plate. 
The figures are all stamped, the lines and indentations being very sharp 
and regular. 

An examination of what Mr. Rogan calls a skin shows beyond ques- 
tion that it is animal matter. The matting he speaks of appears to be 
made of split canes. 

The shell represented in Fig. 46 is the one obtained in grave g. The 
one shown in Fig. 47 is that found in grave /. 





Fic. 47.—Engraved shell from Etowah mound, Georgia. 


I shall at present simply call attention to one or two facts which ap- 
pear to bear upon the age and distribution of these singular specimens 
of art. 

First. We notice the fact alluded to by Mr. Holmes,’ which is 
apparent to every one who inspects his accurately drawn figures, that 
in all their leading features the designs themselves are suggestive of 
Mexican or Central American work. Yet a close inspection brings 





' Science, April 11, 1884. 


THOMAS. } COPPER PLATES FROM ILLINOIS. 105 


to light one or two features which are anomalies in Mexican or Central 
American designs; as, for example, in Figs. 42 and 43, where the wings 
are represented as rising from the back of the shoulders, a fact alluded 
to by Mr. Holmes.!. Although we can find numerous figures of winged 
individuals in Mexican designs (they are unknown in Central Ameri- 
can), they always carry with them the idea that the individual is partly 
or completely clothed in the skin of the bird. This is partially carried 
out in our copper plate, as we see by the bird-bill over the head, the eye 
being that of the bird and not of the man. But when we come to the 
wings we at once see that the artist had in mind the angel Jigure, with 
wings arising from the back of the shoulders, an idea wholly foreign to 
Mexican art. It is further worthy of note in regard to these two plates 
that there is a combination of Central American and Mexican designs : 
the gracefu! limbs, and the ornaments of the arms, legs, waist, and top 
of the head are Central American, and the rest, with the exception 
possibly of what is carried in the right hand, are Mexican. 

That these plates are not the work of the Indians found inhabiting 
the southern sections of the United States, or of their direct ancestors, 
I freely concede. That they were not made by an aboriginal artisan of 
Central America or Mexico of ante-Columbian times, I think is evident, 
if not from the designs themselves, certainly from the indisputable evi- 
dence that the work was done with hard metallic tools. 

Second. Plates like those of this collection have only been found, so 
far as I can ascertain, in northern Georgia and northern and southern 
Illinois. The bird figure represented in Fig. 48 was obtained by Major 





Fic, 48.—Copper plate from Illinois mound, 


Powell, the director of the United States Geological Survey, from a 
mound near Peoria, Illinois. Another was obtained in Jackson County, 
Illinois, by Mr. Thing, from an ordinary stone grave. From another sim- 





' Science, April, 1884. 


106 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 


ilar grave, at the same place, he also obtained the plate represented in 
Fig. 49. Fragments of a similar plate were obtained by Mr. Earle from 
astone grave in a mound in Alexander County, Illinois. All these spee- 





Fic, 49.—Copper plate from Indian grave, Illinois. 


imens were received by the Bureau of Ethnology and deposited in the 
National Museum. 

The box-form stone cists and the figures on the copper plates and 
engraved shells differ so widely from the stone vaults and vestiges of 
art found in the North Carolina and East Tennessee mounds as to for- 
bid the belief that the works of the two regions were constructed by 
one and the same people. The stone cists and to some extent the con- 
struction of the mound appear to connect the authors with the mound- 
builders and authors of the stone graves of the Cumberland Valley and 
Southern Illinois, and several other facts, which we cannot now stop to 
present, seem to strengthen this suggestion. 

The presence of these stone cists in this mound of northern Georgia, 
when coupled with the fact that similar stone graves are found in Hab- 
ersham County, indicate a Shawnee or closely allied element where we 
should expect to find only Creeks or some branch of: the Chahta-Mus- 
cogee family. This is a puzzle by no means easy of solution, but one 
which the scope of our paper does not require us to discuss. Still, we 
inay add, that if our conclusions in regard to this group be correct, 
we must believe that the large mound was built before De Soto reached 
that region while the one explored was built afterwards. Some facts 
brought to light by the recent discovery of a cemetery within the area 
inclosed by the ditch, which I have fur some years believed would be 
found, and for which I caused search to be made, appear to sustain 
these conclusions, and to indicate that two different peoples have occu- 
pied this site and have had a hand in constructing or adding to these 
works. 

Whatever may be our conclusion in reference to these questions, I 
think it will be conceded that the builders of these Etowah mounds be- 


THOMAS. ] ETOWAH MOUNDS NOT OF CHEROKEE ORIGIN. 107 


longed to different tribes from those who erected the East Tennessee and 
North Carolina works, and hence, if we are right in regard to the latter, 
the Etowah mounds were not built by the Cherokees. The important 
hearing which this conclusion has upon the question under discussion, 
as the reader will see, is that the mounds immediately outside of the 
territory occupied by the Cherokees were built by a different people 
from those who erected the works in that territory. Thus we see that, 
judging by the mounds alone, immediately upon passing outside the 
Cherokee country we encounter a different type of works. This fact, 
therefore, when taken in connection with the other evidence adduced, 
becomes strongly corroborative of the view that the Cherokees were the 
authors of the works in their territory. 


CONCLUDING REMARKS. 


The results of our examination of the burial mounds of the northern 
districts may be briefly summed up as follows : 

First. That different sections were occupied by different mound-build- 
ing tribes, which, though belonging to much the same stage in the scale 
of civilization. differed in most instances in habits and customs to a suffi- 
cient extent to mark, by their modes of burial, construction of their 
pn -unds, and their works of art, the boundaries of the respective areas 
occupied. 

Second. That each tribe adopted several different modes of burial 
depending, in all probability, to some extent upon the social condition, 

osition, and occupation of the deceased. 

Third. That the custom of removing the flesh before the final burial 
prevailed very extensively among the mound-builders of the northern 
sections. The bones of the common people being often gathered to- 
gether and cast in promiscuous heaps, over which mounds were built. 

Fourth. That usually some kind of religious or superstitious ceremony 
was performed at the burial, in which fire played a prominent part. 
That, notwithstanding the very common belief to the contrary, there is 
no evidence whatever that human sacrifice was practiced. 

Fifth. That there is nothing found in the mode of constructing these 
mounds, nor in the vestiges of art they contain, to indicate that their 
builders had reached a higher culture-status than that attained by some 
of the Indian tribes found occupying the country at the time of the 
first arrival of Europeans. 

Sixth. That the custom of erecting mounds over the dead continued 
to be practiced in several localities in post-Columbian times. 

Seventh. That the character and condition of the ancient monuments, 
and the relative uniformity in the culture status of the different tribes 
shown by the works and the remains of art found in them, indicate 
that the mound-building age could not have continued in this part of’ 
the continent longer than a thousand years, and hence that its com- 
mencement probably does not antedate the fifth or sixth century. 

Nothing has been found connected with them to sustain or justify the 
opinion, so frequently advanced, of their great antiquity. The calcu- 
lations based upon the supposed age of trees found growing on some 
of them is fast giving way-before recent investigations made in regard 
to the growth of forests, as it has been ascertained that the rings of 
trees are not a sure indication of age. 

108 


THOMAS. | CONCLUSIONS. 109 


Quatrefages may not be correct in fixing the date of the appearance 
of the “Red skins” in the “basin of the Missouri” in the eighth or ninth 
century,' but nothing has been found in connection with the ancient 
works of this country, supposing the Indians to have been their au- 
thors, to prove that he has greatly erred in his calculation. Other 
races or peoples may have preceded the mound-builders in this region, 
but better proof of this is required than that based on the differences 
between the supposed palolithic and neolithic implements of New 
Jersey and other sections, as every type discovered can be duplicated 
a hundred times in the surface finds from different parts of the country. 

Eighth. That all the mounds which have been examined and eare- 
fully studied are to be attributed to the indigenous tribes found in- 
habiting this region and their ancestors. 


'The Human Species, English translation, p. 307. 


SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE," 


BURIAL CEREMONIES OF THE HURONS.? 


Our savages are not savages as regards the duties which nature herself requires us 
to render to the dead. They do not yield in this respect to several nations much more 
civilized. You would say that all their laber and efforts were for scarcely anything 
but to amass means of honoring the dead. They have nothing too valuable for this 
purpose: they devote to this use the robes, the hatchets, and the shell beads in such 
quantities, that you would think to see them, on these occasions, that they were con- 
sidered of no great value, and yet they are all the riches of the country ; you may 
often see them in midwinter almost entirely naked, while they have good and fine 
robes in their chests, which they are keeping in reserve for the dead; this is, indeed, 
their point of honor. It ison this occasion especially that they wish to appear magnifi- 
cent. But I speak here only of their peculiar funerals. ; 

These good people are not like many Christians, who cannotsuffer death to be spoken 
of, and who, in a mortalsickness, hesitate to break the news to the sick one for fear of 
hastening his death. Here, when the recovery of any one is despaired of, not only 
do they not hesitate to tell him that his end is near, but they even prepare in his 
presence all that is necessary for the burial; they often show him the shroud, the 
hose, the shoes, and the girdle which he is to wear; frequently they are enshrouded, 
after their custom, before they have expired, and they hold a feast of farewell to their 
friends, during which they sing, sometimes without showing any apprehension of 
death, which they regard very indifferently, considering it only as a change to a life 
very little different from this. As soon as the dying man has drawn his last breath, 
they arrange the body in the same position that is to be preserved in the tomb ; they 
do not lay it out horizontally, as is our custom, but crouched, like a ball (en peloton), 
“quasi en la mesme posture que les enfants sont au ventre de la mere.” Until this 
time they restrain their mourning. After having performed these duties, ali in the 
cabin begin to utter sighs, groans, and lamentations; the children cry Aistan, if itis 
their father, and the mother dien, dien, ‘‘ My son, my son.” Noone seeing them thus 
weeping and mourning would think that they were only ceremonial lamentations ; 
they blend their voices all in one accord and in a Jugubrious tone, until some one in 
authority calls for peace; at once they cease and the captain hastens to announce 
through all the cabins that such a one is dead. Upon the arrival of the friends they 
resume their mourning. Frequently some one of mote :xportance will begin tospeak 
and will console the mother and the children, now extolling the deceased, praising 
his patience, his kindness, his liberality, his magnificence, and, if he was a warrior, 
his great courage ; now saying, ‘‘ What do you wish ? there is no longer any remedy ; 
it was necessary for him to die; we are all subject to death ;” and then, ‘He lingered 
a very long time,” &c. It is true that on this occasion they do not lack for conver- 
sation; Iam sometimes surprised to see them discourse a long time on this subject, 
and bring up, with much discretion, all considerations that may afford any consola- 
tion to the friends of the deceased. 





‘Referred to on p. 71. 
° Translated from Relations des Jésuites, 1636, pp. 128-139, by Miss Nora Thomas. 
110 


THOMAS. BURIAL CEREMONIFS OF THE HURONS. 111 

Notice is also given of this death to the friends who live in other villages, and as 
each family employs another who has the care of their dead, they come as soon as 
possible to give orders about everything and to fix the day of the funeral. They 
usually inter the dead ou the third day ; in the morning the captain gives an order 
that kettles shall be boiled for the deceased throughout the village. No one spares 
his best efforts. They do this, in my opinion, for three reasons: First, to console 
each other, for they exchange dishes among themselves, and scarcely any one eats out 
of the kettle that he has prepared ; secondly, on account of the arrival of those of 
other villages, who often come in large numbers, lastly and principally, to gratify 
the soul of the deceased, who. they think, takes pleasure in eating hisshare. All the 
kettles being emptied, or at least distributed, the captain informs all the village that 
the body is to be carried to the cemetery. All the people assemble in the cabin; the 
mourning is renewed, and those who have charge of the funeral prepare a litter upon 
which the body is placed, laid upon a mat and wrapped in a robe of beaver skin; 
they then raise it and carry it by the four corners. All the people follow in silence 
to the cemetery. 

There is in the cemetery a tomb made of bark and raised on four stakes of from 8 
to 10 feet in height. While the body is placed in this and the bark is trimmed, the 
captain makes known the presents that have been given by the friends. In this 
couatry, as well as in others, the most agreeable consolations for the loss of relations 
are always accompanied by presents, which consist of kettles, hatchets, beaver skins, 
and necklaces of shell beads. If the deceased was of some importance in the coun- 
try, not only the friends and neighbors but even the captains of other villages will 
come in person to bring their presents. Now, all these presents do not follow the body 
into the tomb ; a necklace of beads is sometimes placed on its neck and near it a comb, 
a gourd-full of oil, and two or three small loaves of bread; that is all. A large part 
of them goes to the relatives to dry their tears; the rest is given to those who have 
had charge of the funeral, to pay them for their trouble. They also keep in reserve 
some robes or hatchets to make presents (largesse) to the young men. The captain 
places in the hand of one of them a stick about afoot long, offering a prize to any one 
who will take it from him. They throw themselves headlong upon him and remain 
engaged in the contest sometimes for an hour. After this each one returns peaceably 
to his cabin. 

I forgot to say that generally throughout the ceremony the mother or wife stands 
at the foot of the sepulcher, calling the deceased, singing, or rather lamenting, in 
mournful tones. 

These ceremonies are not always all observed; those who die in war they place 
in the ground, and the relatives make presents to their patrons, if they have any, 
which is generally the case in this country, to encourage them to raise soldiers and 
avenge the death of the warrior. Those who are drowned are also buried, after the 
most fleshy parts of the body have been taken away in pieces, as I have explained 
more particularly in speaking of their superstitions. The presents are doubled on 
this occasion, and all the people of the country are often there, contributing from their 
store; all this, they say, is to appease the Heaven or the Lake. 

There are even special ceremonies for small children deceased under one or two 
months; they are not placed as others, in sepulchers of bark raised on stakes, 
but buried in the road, in order, they say, ‘‘ que quelque femme passant par 1A, ils 
entrent secretement en son ventre, et que derechef elle leur donne la vie et les en- 
fante.” I doubt that the good Nicodemus would have found much difficulty there, 
although he doubted only for old men, ‘‘ Quomodo potest homo nasci cum sit senex.” 

This beautiful ceremony took place this winter in the person of one of our little 
Christians, who had been named Joseph in baptism. I learned it on this occasion 
from the lips of the father of the child himself. 

When the funeral is over the mourning does not cease: the wife continues it all the 
year for her husband, the husband for the wife; but the grand mourning itself 


112 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NOKTHERN SECTIONS. 


lasts only ten days. During this time they remain lying on their mats wrapped in 
their robes, with their faces against the earth, without speaking or replying to any- 
thing, save Cbay, to those who come to visit them. They do not warm themselves in 
winter or eat warm things; they do not go to the feasts nor go out, save at night, for 
what they need; they cut a lock of hair from the back of the head and declare that 
it is not without deep sorrow, especially when the husband performs this ceremony 
on the death of his wife, or the wife on the death of her husband. Such is the great 
mourning. 

The lesser mourning lasts all the year. When they wish to visit any one, they do 
not salute them nor say Csay, neither do they grease their hair. The women do this, 
however, when commanded to do so by their mothers, who have at their disposal their 
hair, and even their persons. It is also their privilege to send their daughters to the 
feasts, without which several will not go. What I think strange is that during the 
whole year neither the wife nor the husband marries again, else they would cause 
themselves to be talked about in the country. 

The sepulchers are not perpetual, as their villages are only permanent for some 
years, as long as the wood lasts. The bodies remain in the cemeteries only until the 
feast of the dead, which usually takes place every twelve years. During this time 
they do not neglect to honor the dead often. From time to time kettles are boiled for 
their souls throughout the village, as on the day of the funeral, and their names are re- 
vived as often as possible. For this purpose presents are given to the captains to be 
given to him who will consent to take the name of the deceased ; and if the latter was 
of consideration and had been esteemed in the country during his life, he who repre- 
sents him, after giving a grand feast to all the people of the country, to introduce him- 
self under this name, raises a body of free young men and goes to war to accomplish 
some braye feat which will show to the nation that he has not only inherited the name 
but also the bravery and courage of the deceased. 


THE SOLEMN FEAST OF THE DEAD. 


The feast of the dead is the most celebrated ceremony that takes place among the 
Hurons. They give it the name of festival for the reason, as I should say now, that 
when the bodies are taken from the cemeteries each captain makes a “feast to the 
souls” in his village. ‘The most important and magnificent is that of the master of 
the feast, who is for this reason called, par excellence, the “‘ Maistre du Festin.” 

This feast is full of ceremonies, but the chief one is evidently that of “boiling 
the kettle.” This outdoes all the others, and the festival of the dead is spoken of, 
even in the most serious councils, only under the name Chaudiere (the kettle). They 
appropriate to it all the terms of cookery, so that when they speak of hastening or 
retarding the feast they say ‘“‘rake out” or “‘stir up the fire under the kettle;” and 
when any one says “the kettle is overturned,” that means there will be no feast. 

There is generally only one festival in each nation. All the bodies are placed in 
the same grave. I say generally, for this year when the féte des Morts took place the 
kettle-boiling was divided and five villages at this point where we are stationed 
made a separate band and placed their dead in a separate grave. He who had been 
captain of the preceding feast, and who is like the chief at this point, made the ex- 
cuse that his kettle and his feast had been spoiled and that he was obliged to make 
another. But, in fact, this was only a pretext. The real reason of this separation 
is that the great heads of the village have complained for a long time that the others 
took everything to themselves, that they did not share as they wished the knowledge 
of the affairs of the country, and that they were not called to the most secret and im- 
portant councils and to the division of the presents. 

This separation has been followed by distrust on both sides. God grant that it 
cause no hindrance to the spreading of the sacred Gospel. But I must touch briefly 
upon the order and the events of the feast. 

The twelve years or more having expired, the old people and great men of the na- 


THOMAS. | BURIAL CEREMONIES OF THE HURONS. 33 


tion assemble to decide upon the time when the feast shall be held, so as to satisfy 
all the people of the country and the outside nations who are to be invited. 

When the decision is made, as all the bodies are to be transported to the village 
where the common graye is made, each family takes charge of its dead with a care 
and affection that cannot be described. If they have relatives buried in any part of 
the country whatever they spare no trouble to go and bring them. They take them 
from the cemeteries, carry them on their own shoulders, and cover them with the 
finest robes they have in their possession. In each village a good day is chosen, and 
they repair to the cemetery, where those called Aiheonde, who have had the care of the 
sepulcher, take the bodies from the tomb in the presence of the relatives, who renew 
their tears and repeat the mourning of the day of the funeral. 

I was present at this ceremony, and willingly invited all our servants, for I do not 
think that there can be seen in this world a livelier image or more perfect representa- 
tion of the condition of man. 

It is true that in France our cemeteries speak forcibly, and that all these bones 
heaped upon one another without distinction, the poor with the rich or the small 
with the great, are so many voices continually reminding us of death, the vanity of 
worldly things, and the insignificance of this present life. But it seems to me that 
the custom of our savages on this occasion shows us still more sensibly our wretched- 
ness, for after the graves are opened all the bodies are laid out on the ground and left 
thus uncovered for some time, giving the spectators an opportunity for once to see 
what will be their condition some day. Some of the bodies are entirely devoid of 
flesh and have only a dry skin on the bones; others appear as if they had been smoked 
and dried and show scarcely any signs of decay. Others still are covered with worms. 

The friends, being satisfied with this sight, cover them with handsome robes of 
beaver-skin, entirely new. Finally, after a while, they strip off the flesh and the skin, 
which they throw into the fire, together with the robes and mats in which the bodies 
have been buried. The complete bodies of those newly buried are left in the same 
condition and the friends content themselves with simply covering them with new 
robes. They touched only one old man, of whom I haye spoken heretofore, who died 
this autumn on the return from fishing. This large body had only begun to decay a 
month ago, at the time of the first heat of spring; the worms were swarming all over 
if, and the pus which came from it caused an odor almost intolerable; nevertheless 
they had the courage to take the body from the robe in which it was enveloped, 
cleansed it as much as possible, took it up carefully and placed it in a new mat and 
robe, and all this was accomplished without exposing any of this corruption. Is here 
not a good example to animate the hearts of Christians, who should have more noble 
ideas to deeds of charity and works of pity towards their brethren? After this who 
will look with horror upon the misery of a hospital? And who will not feel a pecu- 
liar pleasure in serving a sick man covered with wounds, in whose person he serves 
the Son of God? 

As they were stripping the bodies they found in two of them a species of charm. 
The one that I saw with my own eyes was a turtle’s egg with a leather strap 
(courroye); the other, which was examined by our fathers, was a small turtle the size 
ofanut. This leads to the belief that there were sorcerers in our village, on account 
of which some resolved to leave it as soon as possible. Indeed, two or three days 
after one of the richest men, fearing that some misfortune would befall him, trans- 
ported his cabin two miles from us to the village of Arontaen. 

Now, when these bones are well cleaned, part of them are placed in sacks, part in 
blankets, and they carry them on their shoulders, covering these bundles with other 
beautiful hanging robes. Entire bodies are put on a sort of litter and carried 
with all the others, each one taking his bundle into his cabin, where every family 
makes a feast to its dead. 

Returning from this festival with a captain, who has considerable intelligence and 
who will be some day of high standing in the affairs of the country, I asked him why 


> ETH—S 


114 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 


they called the bones of the dead Atisken. He explained as clearly as he could, and 
J learned from what he said that many believe that we have two souls, both divisible 
and material and yet both rational ; one leaves the body at death, but remains, how- 
ever, in the cemetery until the feast of the dead, after which it either is changed into 
a turtle-dove, or according to the more general belief, it goes immediately to the vil- 
lage of souls. 

The other soul is attached to the body; it marks the corpse, as it were, and remains 
in the grave after the feast, never to leave it, ‘si ce n’est que quelqu’vn l’enfante de 
rechef.”” He mentioned to me, as a proof of this metempsychosis, the perfect resem- 
blance which some persons bear to others who are deceased. Here is a grand phi- 
losophy. This is why they call the bones of the dead Atisken, “the souls.” 

A day or two before departing for the feast they carried all these bodies into one of 
the largest cabins of the village, where some of them were attached to the poles of 
the cabin, and others laid around it, and the captain entertained and made a grand 
feast in the name of the deceased captain, whose name he bore. I was present at 
this “feast of spirits,” and observed four things in particular: First, that the offer- 
ings which were given for the feast by the friends, and which consisted of robes, 
necklaces of shell beads, and kettles, were hung on poles extending the whole length 
of the cabin from one side to the other. Second, the captain sang the song of the dead 
captain, according to the desire he had expressed before his death, that it should be 
sung on this occasion. Third, all the guests had the privilege of dividing among 
themselves all the good things they had brought, and even of carrying them home, 
contrary to the custom at ordinary feasts. Lastly, at the close of the feast, as a com- 
pliment to him who had entertained them, they imitated as they sang the ery of the 
spirits, and left the cabin crying haéé haé. 

The master of the feast, and even Anenkhiondic, captain-general of all the country, 
sent to invite us several times with much solicitation. You would have thought 
that the feast could not be a success without us. I sent two of our fathers several 
days beforehand to see the preparations and to learn exactly the day of the feast. 
Anenkhiondic received them very kindly, and on their departure conducted them 
himself a quarter of a league from there to where the graye was dug, and showed 
them with much display of emotion all the arrangements, &c., of the feast. 

This feast was to have taken place on the Saturday of Pentecost, but some affairs 
which came up unexpectedly, and the uncertainty of the weather, caused it to be put 
off until Monday. 

The seven or eight days before the feast were passed in collecting the bodies (les 
Ames) as well as assembling the strangers who were invited ; meanwhile from morning 
till night gifts were distributed by the living to the young men in honor of the dead. 
On one side women were drawing the bow to see who should have the prize, 
which was sometimes a girdle of porcupine quills or a necklace of beads; on the other 
hand, in several parts of the village the young men were drawing clubs upon any 
who would try to capturethem. The prize of this victory was a hatchet, some knives, 
orevenabeaver robe. Every day the remains were arriving. ‘There is some pleasure 
in seeing these funeral processions which number sometimes from two to three hun- 
dred persons. Each one carries the remains of his friends, that is the bones, packed 
upon his back after the manner that I have described, under a beautiful robe. Some 
arranged their packets in the shape of a man, decorated with strings of beads, with 
a fine crown of red hair. On leaving their village the whole company cried haéé haé 
and répeated this ‘‘cry of the spirits” all along the way. This cry, they say, com- 
forts them greatly, otherwise their burdens, although souls, would weigh very 
heavily and cause a weakness of the side (costé) for the rest of their lives. They 
travel by short stages; the people of our village were three days in going four leagues 
and in reaching Ossossané, which we call Rochelle, where all the ceremonies were to 
be held. As soon as they arrive near any village they shout again the haéé haé. The 
whole village comes out to meet them; many presents are again distributed on this 


THOMAS. ] BURIAL CEREMONIES OF THE HURONS. als 


occasion. Each one repairs to some one of the cabins; all find a place to put their bun- 
dies ; this is done without confusion. At the same time the captains hold a council to 
decide upon the time that the company shall spend in this village. All the bodies 
of the dead of eight or nine villages were taken to Rochelle on Saturday of Pentecost; 
but the fear of bad weather obliged them, as I have said, to postpone the ceremony 
till Monday. We were lodged a quarter of a league from there, at the old village, 
in a cabin where there were at least a hundred skeletons hung up to the poles, some 
of which smelled stronger than musk. 

Monday at midday, word was sent that they were ready and that the ceremony 
would begin. The bundles of skeletons were at once taken down and the friends un- 
folded the wrappings to say their last farewells. Their tears flowed anew. I admired 
the tenderness of one woman towards the remains of her father and children. She is 
the daughter of a captain who died at a great age and who formerly occupied a high 
position in the country. She combed his hair; she touched the bones one after another 
with as much affection as if she would haye given them life; she placed near him 
his Atsatonesai, that is, his packet of rods (bichettes) of the council, which are all 
the books and papers of the country. As for her children, she put upon their arms 
bracelets of shells and glass beads and bathed their bones with her tears. She could 
hardly be separated from them, but they were in haste, and it was necessary to start 
at once. The one who carried the body of this old captain walked at the head, the 
men following and then the women. They marched in this order until they arrived 
at the grave. 

The following is the arrangement of this place: There was a space about as large 
as the Place Royale at Paris. In the center was a large grave about 10 feet (pieds) 
deep and 5 fathoms (brasses) in diameter, round it a scaffolding and a sort of stage 
nicely made, from 9 to 10 fathoms (brasses) in diameter and 9 or 10 feet high; above 
the stage there were seyeral poles raised and well arranged, and others laid across 
them on which to hang all the bundles of skeletons. The entire bodies, as these 
were to be placed at the bottom of the grave, were laid under the scaffolding the day 
before, resting on bark, or mats raised on stones to the height of a man around the 
grave. The whole company arrived with the bodies about an hour after midday, and 
divided into parties according to the families and villages, and laid their bundles 
upon the ground, almost as the pots of earth were made at the village fairs; they 
also unfolded their robes and all the offerings they had brought and hung them upon 
the poles which extended for from 500 to 600 fathoms (toises); there were nearly 
twelve hundred gifts which remained thus on exhibition for two whole hours, to give 
strangers an opportunity to see the riches and magnificence of the country. I did 
not find the company as great as I had expected ; there were not more than two thou- 
sand persons. About 3 o’clock each one fastened up his bundles and folded his 
robes. Meanwhile each captain, in order, gave a signal,and all immediately took 
up their bundles of bones, ran as if at the assault of a city, mounted upon this stage 
by means of ladders which were placed all aronnd, and hung them (the bundles) to 
the poles; each village had its department. This done, all the ladders were taken 
away. Some of the captains remained upon the platform and spent the rest of 
the afternoon, until 7 o’clock, in announcing the lists of presents which were given 
in the name of the deceased to some particular persons. For instance, they would 
say, here is what such a one, deceased, gives to a certain relative. 

About 5 or 6 o’clock they lined (pauerent) the bottom of the grave and bordered it 
with large new robes, the skins of ten beavers, in such a way that these extend 
more than a foot out of it. As they were preparing the robes which were to be used 
for this purpose, some of them descended into the grave, and came from it with their 
hands full of sand. I inquired what this ceremony meant, and learned that they 
believed that this sand will render them happy at their games (au ieu). 

Of the twelve hundred offerings that had been exhibited on the platform, forty- 


116 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 


eight robes were to line and trim the grave, and each complete body had, besides the 
robe in which it was wrapped, another one, and some even two others, to cover it. 
This is all: so that I do not think [? but] that each body had one to itself, taking one 
with another, which is the least that it could have for its burial; for these robes of 
beaver skin are what the clothes and shrouds are in France. But what becomes then 
of the rest? We will see presently. 

At 7 o’clock the bodies were lowered into the grave. We had great difficulty 
in approaching it. Nothing ever pictured better to me the confusion among the 
damned. You could see unloaded on all sides bodies half decayed, and everywhere 
was heard a terrible uproar of confused voices of persons who were speaking without 
hearing one another; ten or twelve men were in the grave and were arranging the 
bodies all around it, one after the other. They placed, exactly in the center, three 
large kettles, which were of no use save for the spirits; one was pierced with holes, 
another had no handle, and the third was worth little more. I saw a few necklaces 
of shell beads there; it is true, many of them were put on the body. This was all 
that was done on this day. 

The whole company passed the night on the spot, having lit a great many fires and 
boiled kettles. We retired to the old village with the intention of returning the next 
day at daylight when they were to cast the bones into the grave; but we barely ar- 
rived in time, notwithstanding all the diligence we employed, on account of an 
accident which happened. One of the skeletons, which was not well fastened, or 
perhaps was too heavy for the cord which held it, fell of itself into the grave. 
The noise it made awoke the whole troupe, who ran and immediately mounted, in a 
crowd, to the platform and emptied, without order, all the bundles into the grave, 
reserving, however, the robes in which they had been wrapped. We were just leay- 
ing the village at that time, but the noise was so great that it seemed almost as 
though we were there. Approaching we saw suddenly an image of the infernal 
regions. This great space was filled with fire and smoke and the air resounded on all 
sides with the mingled voices of the savages. This noise, nevertheless, ceased for a 
while, and was changed to singing, but in a tone so doleful and weird that it repre- 
sented to us the terrible sadness and the depth of despair in which condemned souls 
are forever plunged. 

Nearly all the bones had been cast in when we arrived, for it was done almost in a 
moment, each one being in haste for fear that there was not room for all these skele- 
tons; nevertheless we saw enough of it to judge of the rest. There were five or six 
men in the grave, with poles, to arrange the bones. It was filled up within 2 feet of 
the top with bones, after which they turned over upon them the robes that bordered 
the grave all around, and covered the whole with mats and bark. The pit was then 
filled up with sand, rods, and stakes of wood which were thrown in promiscuously. 
Some of the women brought dishes of corn, and on the same day and the following 
days several cabins of the village furnished basketfuls of it, which were cast into the 
pit. 

We have fifteen or twenty Christians buried with these infidels. We say a De 
profundis for their souls, with the firm hope that if the Divine goodness does not 
cease His blessings on His people this feast will be made no more, or will be only for 
Christians, and will be celebrated with rites as holy as these are foolish and useless. 
They also begin to be a burden upon the people for the excess and superfluous ex- 
penses that are caused by them. 

All the morning was spent in distributing gifts (largesses), and most of the robes 
that had been wrapped around the bodies were cut in pieces and thrown from the top 
of the platform into the midst of the crowd for whoever could seize them first. There 
was great sport when two or three contested the possession of one beaver skin. In 
order to settle it peaceably it was necessary to cut if into so many pieces, and thus 
they came out nearly empty-handed, for these tatters were hardly worth the picking 
up. Iadmired here the industry of one savage. He did not hurry himself to run 


a 


THOMAS. | BURIAL CEREMONIES OF THE HURONS. 1h, 


after these flying pieces ; but, as there is nothing so valuable this year in the country 
as tobacco (petun), he held some pieces of it in his hand, which he presented at once 
to those who were disputing over the skin, and thus acquired it for himself. 

Before leaving the place we learned that, on the evening when presents had been 
given to the foreign nations, on the part of the master of the feast, we also had been 
named; and, in fact, as we were going, Anenkhiondic came and presented a new robe 
composed of ten beaver skins, in return for the necklace which I had given them in 
the midst of the council to show them the heavenly way. They were so much obliged 
for this present that they wished to show some acknowledgment of it in so good an 
assembly. I would not accept it, however, saying to him that, as we had made them 
this present only to persuade them to embrace our faith, they could not oblige us 
more than in listening to us willingly and believing in Him who rules over all. He 
asked what I desired that he should do with the robe. I replied that he could dispose 
of it in whatever way he deemed best, with which he remained perfectly satisfied. Of 
the rest of the twelve hundred presents forty-eight robes were used to adorn the grave. 
Each body wore its robe and some of them two or three. Twenty were given to the 
master of the feast, to reward the nations who had assisted at it. A number were 
distributed on the part of the dead, through the captains, to their living friends. A 
part of them were only used for show, and were returned to those who had exhibited 
them. The old people (anciens), and great leaders of the country, who had the ad- 
ministration and management of it, privately took a great deal, and the rest were cut 
in pieces, as I have said, and scattered through the assembly. However, it was only 
the rich who lost nothing, or very little, at this feast. The mendicants and poor 
people brought and left there all they possessed of any value, and suffered much by 
striving to appear as well as others in this celebration. Every one stood upon this 
point of honor. 

Indeed, it was only by a chance that we were not also participants of the feast. 
During this winter the Captain Aenons, of whom I haye spoken before, came to nake 
us a proposal on the part of all the anciens of the country. At that time the boiling 
of the kettle (chandiere) was not yet divided. They proposed to us then that we 
should consent to exhume the remains of the two Frenchmen who had died in this 
country, to wit, Guillaume Chaudron and Estienne Bruslé, who was killed four years 
ago, and that their bones might be placed in the common grave of their dead. We 
replied at first that this could not be done; that it was forbidden; that as they had 
been baptized, and were, as we hoped, in heaven, we respected their bones too highly 
to allow them to be mixed with the bones of those who had not been baptized. 
Besides, it was not our custom to exhume the bodies of those who had been buried. 

We decided, however, after all, that as they were interred in the wood and since 
the people desired it so much, we would consent to take up their bones on the condi- 
tion that they allowed us to put them in a particular grave, with the bones of all that 
we had baptized in the country. 

Four reasons especially persuaded us to give them this final answer. First, as it is 
the greatest expression of friendship and good-will that can be shown in this country, 
we yielded to them readily in this point that which they wished, and thus showed 
that we desired to love them as brothers and to live and die with them. Second, we 
hoped that God would be glorified in it, especially, in that separating by consent of 
all the nation the bodies of the Christians from those of the unbelievers, it would 
not be difficult afterwards to obtain special permission that their Christians should 
be interred in a separate cemetery, which we would bless for that purpose. ‘Third, 
we claimed to bury them with all the rites of the Chureh. Fourth, the old men, 
of their own accord, desired us to raise there a beautiful and magnificent cross, as 
they showed us afterwards more particularly. Thus the cross would have been 
established by the authority of the whole country and honored in the midst of this 
heathenism, and they would have been careful not toimpute to it afterwards, as they 
have done in the past, all the misfortunes that befell them. 


118 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS 


This captain thought our proposition very reasonable and the old men (anciens) of 
the country remained very well contented with it. Some time after, the chaudiere was 
divided, and, as I have said, five villages of our part of the country resolved to hold 
their feast apart. 

In the spring a general assembly of all the principal men was held, to consult about 
the feast and to endeavor to prevent this schism and reunite the cooking of the kettle. 
These dissatisfied ones were there and I also was invited. They made me the same 
proposition as before. I replied that we were very well satisfied, provided that this 
was done under the conditions that we had demanded. I was reminded of the divis- 
ion, and they asked me, since there were two feasts (chaudieres), that is, two graves, 
on which side I desired to have our special grave. To this I answered, in order to 
offend no one, that I would leave it to their judgment; that they were just and wise 
and they could decide between themselves. The master of the feast of Rochelle said, 
thereupon, with condescension, that he did not claim anything and that he was will- 
ing that the other, who is the chief at this place, should have on his side the remains 
of our two Frenchmen. The latter replied that he laid no claim to the one that had 
been buried at Rochelle, but that as for the body of Estienne Bruslé it belonged to 
him, as it was he that had engaged with him and led him into this country. So here 
the bodies were separated, one on one side, the other on the other side. At this some 
one said privately that indeed he (the chief) had the right to demand the body of 
Estienne Bruslé, and that it was reasonable that he should render some honor to his 
bones, since they had killedhim. This could not be said so discreetly but that the cap- 
tain had a hint of it; he concealed his feelings, however, at the time. After the 
council, as we had already gone, he raised this reproach and began to talk with the 
captain of Rochelle, and finally gave over entirely the body of Bruslé, in order not to 
embitter and make bloody this sore, of which the people of this point have net yet 
cleared themselves. This caused us to resolve, that we might keep in favor with those 
of Rochelle, not to meddle with either the one or the other. 

Truly there is reason te admire the secret judgments of God, for this infamous man 
certainly did not merit that honor; and to tell the truth we had hesitated much in 
resolving to make on this occasion a particular cemetery, and to transport to holy 
ground a body that had led so wicked a life in the country and given the savages such 
a wrong impression of the manners of the French. At first some thought hard of it 
that we should have this opinion and were offended, alleging that this being so they 
could not boast as they hoped among strange nations of being related to the French, 
otherwise it would be said to them that they did not have much appearance of it, 
since we had not wished to put the bones of our people with theirs. Afterwards, how- 
ever, having heard all our reasons, they decided that we had acted prudently and that 
it was the best ineans of maintaining our friendship with each other. 

Shall I finish for the present with this funeral? Yes; since it is a mark sufficiently 
clear of the hope of a future life which nature seems to furnish us in the minds of 
these people, as a good means of making them understand the promises of Jesus Christ. 
Is there not reason to hope that they will do this, and that as soon as possible? Cer- 
tainly I dare to assert that with this prospect we have reason to fortify our courage 
and to say of our Hurons what St. Paul wrote to the Philippians: ‘ Confidens hocipsum, 
quia qui ceepit in vobis opus bonum, perficiet vsque in diem Christi Iesu.” These poor people 
open their ears to what we tell them of the kingdom of heaven; they think it very 
reasonable, and do not dare to contradict it. They are learning the judgments of God in 
the other life; they are beginning to have recourse with us to His goodness in their ne- 
cessities, and our Lord seems to favor them sometimes with some particular assistance. 
They procure baptism for those who they think are about to die; they give us their 
children to be instructed, even permitting them to come three hundred leagues for 
this purpose, notwithstanding the tender affection they have for them; they promise 
to follow them one day and show us that they would not give us such precious pledges 
if they did not desire to keep faith with us. You would say that they were waiting 


THOMAS. ] BURIAL CEREMONIES OF THE HURONS. 119 


only to see some one among them to be the first to take this bold step and dare to go 
contrary to the custom of the country. They are, finally, a people who have a 
permanent home (demeure arrestée), are judicious, capable of reason, and well mul- 
tiplied. 

I made mention, the past year, of twelve nations entirely sedentary and harmonious, 
who understand the language of our Hurons; and the Hurons make in, twenty villages, 
about 30,000 souls ; if the rest is in proportion, there are more than 300,000 who speak 
only the Huron language. God gives us influence among them; they esteem us, and 
we are in such favor with them, that we know not whom to listen to, so much does 
each one aspire to have us. In truth we would be very ungrateful for the goodness 
of God if we should lose courage in the midst of all this, and did not wait for Him to 
bring forth the fruit in his own time. 

It is true that I have some little apprehension for the time when it will be necessary 
to speak to them in a new way of their manners and to teach them ‘‘a clonér leur 
chairs” and restrain themselves in the honesty of marriage, breaking off their ex- 
cesses for fear of the judgment of God upon their vices. Then it will be a question of 
telling them openly, ‘ Quoniam qui talia agunt regnum Dei non possidebunt.” I fear that 
they will prove stubborn, when we speak to them of assuming Jesus Christ, wearing 
his colors, and distinguishing themselves in the quality of Christians from what 
they have been formerly, by a virtue of which they scarcely know the name; when 
we cry unto them with the Apostle: ‘‘ For this is the will of God, your sanctifica- 
tion: that you should abstain from fornication, that every one of you should know 
how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor: not in the passion of lust, like 
the gentiles that know not God.” There is, I repeat, reason to fear that they may be 
frightened with the subject of purity and chastity, and that they will be disheartened 
with the doctrine of the Son of God, saying with those of Capernaum, on another sub- 
ject, “ Durus est hic sermo et quis potest eum audire?” Nevertheless, since with the 
grace of God we have already persuaded them, by the open profession we have made 
of this virtue, neither to do or say in our presence anything which may be averse to 
it —even to threaten strangers when they forget themselves before us, warning them 
that the French and especially the ‘‘ black robes,” detest these intimacies—is it 
not credible that if the Holy Spirit touches them once, it will so impress upon them 
henceforth, in every place and at all times, the reverence which they should give to 
His divine presence and immensity, that they will be glad to bechaste in order to be 
Christians, and will desire earnestly to be Christians in order to bechaste? I believe 
that it is for this very purpose that our Lord has inspired us to put them under the 
charge of St. Joseph. This great saint, who was formerly given for a husband to 
the glorious Virgin, to conceal from the world and the devil a virginity which God 
honored with His incarnation, has so much influence over the ‘‘Sainte Dame,” in 
whose hands His Son has placed, as in deposit, all the graces which co-operate with 
this celestial virtue, that there is almost nothing to fear in the contrary vice, for those 
who are devoted to Him, as we desire our Hurons to be, as well as ourselves. It is 
for this purpose, and for the entire conversion of all these peoples, that we commend 
ourselves heartily to the prayers of all those who love or wish to love God and es- 
pecially of all our fathers and brothers. 

Your very humble and obedient servant in our Lord, 

JEAN DE BREBEUF. 


From the residence of St. Joseph, among the Hurons, at the village called Ihena- 
tiria, this 16th of July, 1636. 











SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 





BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY. 


THE CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS: 


A NARRATIVE OF THEIR OFFICIAL RELATIONS WITH THE 
COLONIAL AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENTS, 


BY 


CHARLES C. ROYCE. 








CONGEN TS. 


MnerodnenlOnesens eo e eee ese eee see wee satoe ease wees weenie aiaiwenaw rls e'sic 


Cessions of land—Colonial period .....--------------------------------- 
Cessions of land — Federal period ...-......--.----. ---------+---------- 


Treaty of November 28, 1785......---.------ -----+ +--+ +--+ 2220 eee eter eee 


Material provisions ..-..-.-.--------- -----+ ------ 2-22 e208 eee ee eee 
istoricall date. -s-ss2—6< 52-22 eae cee ace women aleemwinm annem = mane 
De Soto’s expedition -....-...----.----+---+------- +--+ +----- +--+ 
Early traditions. -.....-----------. -----------+ see 222 ee eee eee eee 
Early contact with Virginia colonists -..-.-------------------------- 
Early relations with Carolina colonists..---.------------+---------- 
Mention by various early authors .-----.-.----------------------+---- 
Territory of Cherokees at period of English settlement.----.------- 
TRa EOS ease cross cso eOs SHO) SeeO case Soeeeeoo Deo oonconoe 
Old'Cherokee towns+-c2. -- 22 =. s2ce ae ateee Sacie cee en -ncnc-eslennnnei= 
Expulsion of Shawnees by Cherokees and Chickasaws..------------ 
Treaty relations with the colonies .----..----.--------------------- 
Treaty relations with the United States..---..-.---.--------------- 
Proceedings at treaty of Hopewell-.--..----.---------------------- 


Treaty of July 2,1791 ..---. ..-------------- ---- ----++ --00 -- +222 eee ee eee 


Material provisions .....----- .----- -----------+ --2-28 --- 222 eee eee 
Historical dabaess eases acs seals eee nes cenloe oleae minim enim minisin lw nis \sa miele a 
Causes of dissatisfaction with boundary of 1785..-.--..----.-------- 
Tennessee Company’s purchase .--..--------- ---------------------- 
Difficulties in negotiating new treaty .----- ----.------------------- 


Survey of new boundaries.........----.---------+-----------+----- 
Treaty of February 17,1792......-.-..----- ------------ ------ 2022 eee nee eee 


Material provisions... 0.2. . 5.022222 ---cc- <n oa nnn cesses nee csenes 
TEN nHON GS. Ra A oes oe sa san esol SObe Gan JESS ORCI Boe EICgaaes 
DREONTeN TO biOHOLU ROCS Ee eat oom ato a teeta fe on esl noe ain felei=imio t= nln = 
MPA EATEN CMETOKGEKIS a= cen 6 ee oot cence ace hha mee ma sminrSania sean lanes 


Treaty of June 26, 17942. << ~~ 22.5 one w= nme ns ews eens “news ~- a2 oe nne ose 


Material provisions ......---- ..---- ----<< 2-2-9 =o en ene nanan eee 
MAStORIG al Oahaee aes aa ol cen see ase ew eminence mnie seo ayant anne 
Complaints concerning boundaries.----.-.-..----------------------- 
Gherblree Noshilineny- sees sa see same cee aetna enna ann 
Intercourse act of 1796 ....--.----.---- -------- ----- +2005 2-02 ------ 


124 CONTENTS. 


Treaty of October 24, 1004 eer tere epee oe ere ett esate oe el ete ate eeetee 
Material provisions..---. ...-...--.-...--...-. Gosbascossoss cadss pO SOOD 
lab eC IGOR eo aa ee pasos Caecce ares cose sO bso sae Sos Seon SSeS oes 

New treaty authorizediby Conpresa. sera ete setae seers 
Wattord’s!Sethleme nt terete ctstemieietetere mete aise eee ete ee 
Further negotiations authorizedo2 22 scesesseaeieeeaeee ae seee= == 

Mreaty of October, 20805 Sesser ese sees eee eee eee eee 
Material! provisions) 2-22 cece ee) ae eisai oe ae eee sere ee 

Treaty of October) 27, 18052. 2 32- cc. ose somayeeisie sneer ee see meeeieeeise =e 
Material pro vilS O18 tera tete = ae re weet ratere 
Historical data respecting this treaty and the preceding one..-.-.....---- 

Continued negotiations authorized! --2-2-~- 2-2-2 - ee ewe eee eee 
Controversy concerning ‘‘ Doublehead ” tract .-....-.---.--....-.-- 

Treaty of Januaryi7, 1806-2252). secrete Salesian see ee See ee eee ee 
Material provisions 22232 se, .se eae ee eee epee eee eee nearer 

Treaty of September iil 1807 Seer tesco eee eee ee eters 
Material provisions -2..'52 <2 one) eee de y <n) eee ee ee ee 
Ebistori call daitals rae crete sete teal em aioe eee ea ae ae ale eee 

Controversy; concerning boundaries: 2--=----se ooo sen see ol) = ie 
Explanatory; treaty merotiatedien te -- eel eee eae seis iae l= 

Treaty of March 22, 1816, ceding land in South Carolina....-.....-.-..----- 
Material pros] OMS oe petra area eterna leer ee) ae eae ate eo elite nee 

Treaty of March 22,1816, defining certain boundaries, etc .-.......--------- 
Material provisions)... -2caecsemce <= sass nee eee eee see 
Historicalldatatons-ssst == eenp eee te See eet ee selene epee arene eee 

Colonel Earle’s negotiations for the purchase of iron ore tract -- ---- 
Tennessee fails to conclude a treaty with the Cherokees ....-....-.--- 
Removal of Cherokees to the west of the Mississippi proposed . ---- 4 
Efforts of South Carolina to extinguish Cherokee title. .....---.----- 
Boundary between Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws, and Chickasaws...- 


Roads through the Cherokee country ...--..--.---.--.------------- 

Treaty of Septemberil4 31816 ieee eo eee ee eee ee see ee eee 
Material provisions tects eee eases e ete eee eee 
Historical data. ise pa ae eee eee lee eateries snes cepa eee 

: Further purchase of ‘(Cherokee lands --<-.---. << oan seine eee se mae = 
Treaty of July S\VSM i eee cme ae eee te siesta ea eee aa see ele eee oe tare ete 
Material provisions s.n-i5 sssed.s. css =m oe clevesisisaeiele fe Saje sits selene la 

PSO CCEA MOREY ee oe A Ose DSCESS OEciGMice SHSOSE OS ones aboS sea SD esoeS 
Policy of removing Indian tribes to the west of the Mississippi River- 
Further cession of territory by the Cherokees -..-......-..----.---- 
Treatyiol Pebruary 2418) 9 eee ee eee eee eee ee eter 
Material provisionsee-s sce p= esate eeee eee ee oan ee eee ee sees ae oeeae 
Enistori call datas -92 sees a= ieee ee ae tie tne ae ete ere eee Perel 
Cherokees west of the Mississippi—their wants and condition ------ 
Disputes among Cherokees concerning emigration... .--------.---- 

Public sentiment in Tennessee and Georgia concerning Cherokee re- 

WO) BEE Ere Sonn aoa acs Acnbbn abases -SerOnbo cond Bess cooraegcsses 

Treaty concluded for further cession of land .----.---.-.-----.----- 

Status of certain Cherokees -.-. .-- iseG nine Anece sie Sainieeeeeeeeriemer 

Treaty of May 6,828" 3). -oeceeeeesee ee enee nee Eee nes zh Sala Sree aees 
Material provisions: - .:.~ <2 2coecn se coece se ore seaete er eee e= Gee ae eee 
Historical datas a. .cicck cise cosites em Seer eee Bee ee eee 
Return, J. Meigs'and ithe Cherokees -o-.-see == eee eee eee 
Tennessee denies validity of Cherokee reservations .-.--.---- ------ 

United States agree to extinguish Indian title in Georgia......--..- 


CONTENTS. 


Treaty of May 6, 1828— Continued. 
Cherokee progress in civilization -.-....---..-..---..-5----------- 
Failure of negotiations for further cession of lands. ........-.-..--- 
Cherokee Nation adopts a constitution -.......-...---..-----.----.- 
Cherokee affairs west of the Mississippi..-.-...-------.------------ 
Less Peony LAME GOO toma ct anise sien Wrens e ls eects Suet te occ ees 
Maren rovislOnSasre aa tee ans foals oes ars es ae cee ere eceheseeteese 
PRR LOLICAMOUD Ween eect ea sbos Sts = a cieem ces iec ec soc ecets secs 
Conflicting land claims of Creeks and Cherokees west of the Mis- 
SHIN Dy Mlsks Sacsouce occ Shae a SO Rear e aS AROS COS a CS DESPA SB Ee ea aoce 
Pureliase of Osage half-breed reserves --..--------- --.<-----..--5-- 
President Jackson refuses to approve treaty of 1834 .......-....-.-- 
sMrestyoLMacemberee yl booears se esas nce eines cociacsieccwn scence 
Materiel punoyaslonsrsee se aoe me eek ee ete tere een tee nae aoa es heel. 
Treaty of March 1, 1836 (supplementary articles) ....-----..----.-.----.---- 
MENGE nT alypCOVinlONS estes saan ar a etraipe em es Bete es os ee omar an 
ENRCORICAO aha pst oe oe se eens ee eae Bake eee ease Scie e = sisiseeac 
Zealous measures for removal of Eastern Cherokees .-.--...-------. 
General Carroll's report on the condition of the Cherokees..-..-..-.-. 
Havluretet Colonel Mowry’s mission --- ~ .=-s-<--== sn ose e oes 
Decision of Supreme Court in ‘‘Cherokee Nation v. Georgia”. ..-.-- 
Mailire Ofer CHeRter sp MISMO Me cas ote maa 2 Sencar ciacces oes cea 
Decision of Supreme Court in ‘‘ Worcester v. Georgia”. -...-.-.---- 
Disputed boundaries between Cherokees and Creeks-......-.-..----. 
Cherokees plead with Congress and the President for justice ...-.--. 
Cherokees propose an adjustment....-...--=. ...-----.....--..----- 
Cherokees-memorialize Congress. ----...-.-. -22---- scone. =~ 2 ase 
Rreahy NePoOuUAONe LesuIued joes eaten deen eeeaan es meme 
REpONULOLe Vien OLMO ANTS eee a temrn aseismic asin= Mena eras aciaemer eae 
JOS TERS ieTai Th OURS WME IES occ coos noe Sete ees cepnoe se asecensconesce 
SPEGGN ON Generel bus Gre) UNE Wem sete atest mmeishe sore isle mime 
Repormon Geueral POURS y Wy OOle sea. oem eer ceca] emer misiele inielatcenee 
RenonuOunonm Mason il soe seiscese eo aeeee ne Sanne ce iaea acetals 
Henry Clay’s sympathy with the Cherokees ..--....---.-.-.--:----- 
Policy of the President criticised— Speech of Col. David Crockett -. 
General Winfield Scott ordered to command troops in Cherokee 
GUT Nios paootdedce Dee c man Doo es hoscone obo sop oeseps sSeebSespecacs 
John Ross proposes a new treaty ..---.- .----.------.----------.---- 
Cherokees permitted to remove themselves...--...----------------- 
Dissension amoog Cherokees in their new home .-.---- .-------.----- 
Cherokees charge the United States with bad faith....-....--.-.--- 
Per capita payments under treaty of 1835..--.....-..-.----.------.. 
Political murders in Cherokee Nation ...-.....--.------------------ 
Adjudication commissioners appointed ..---- Re eeee Sane oe esse escek 
ICG) yy (A JATCO Dts TS) ooo 8 Sone kocompes Spey CoSon0 eaoe oSee ene sen Oasiasae 
WEEN SMI, Sag Kon RSs Sen SEO USSO CoS ton Bae SE OSE aa peenHSCoeeESe 
TRINSHATIGE)! AE eae = oe eRe BS OCeE COCR SSeC OE ENE SOS Seo SeO Seger 
Cherokees desire a new treaty ---....--. ...-....--..--------------- 
Feuds between the ‘‘ Ross,” ‘‘ Treaty,” and ‘‘Old Settler” parties - -- 
Death of Sequoyah, or George Guess.-.. .--.-...----.-------.------ 
Old Settler and Treaty parties propose to remove to Mexico... --- 
Lime eh eG ea oe ng oa eay (cos ceed ae tbeoccen eerie sso Sens 
Nepotiation of treaty Of 1846-22 5-2-2 oon aoe oo Pac eoee wan naeen== 
Affairs of the North Carolina Cherokees --.-.-.--.----- Sete see eee 


ww 
1~ ~) 


ww 
wo @ 
oe 


126 


CONTENTS. 


Treaty of August 6, 1846 — Continued. 


Proposed removal of the Catawba Indians to the Cherokee country - 


Financial difficulties of the Cherokees ..-....-----.----.-.----.---- 
Murder of the Adairs and others..-----.....---.------- -i2.-------- 
Financial distresses — New treaty proposed ......-.---------------- 
Slavery in the Cherokee Nation....-...---..-----------+----------- 
Removal of white settlers on Cherokee land..-.-....-...----------- 
Fort Gibson abandoned by the United States...-...--.------------- 
Removal of trespassers on neutral land ...--.---.-----.------------ 
John Ross opposes survey and allotment of Cherokee domain. ..---. 
Political excitement am U8G0) saa a ae a aa w ate a tae a le tee lilt 


Cherokees and the Southern Confederacy 
Cherokee troops for the Confederate army 
A Cherokee Confederate regiment deserts to the United States. ----- 
Ravages of war in the Cherokee Nation......-.---------.---------- 





Treaty, of July 19; 1866: 2. ---42s2s.cer eee oem ise lis inal nein miele 
Material provisions .-...-.- 0. ---- -<--20 ¢<22-- = 2-222 we enn wn nn = 
Treaty of April 27, 1868 (supplemental) ....---.---------------------------- 
Material provisions << 2c0 q2 2s en see ete lee ae i elim aeolian ini 
Historical datamecer]saceiee nese aston eee ee eee 


United States desire to remove Indians from Kansas to Indian Ter- 

MK) A Pe BERR CO OOED 6oc5o0 HonscsoS56 sec5a a Ssecece seca ca sabe S20S 205 
Council of southern tribes at Camp Napoleon ...---.----.---------- 
General council at Fort Smith --.....--..--.-- .----- ------+----- ---- 
Conference at Washington, D. C......---..------------------------ 
Cession and sale of ‘Cherokee strip” and ‘‘neutral lands” ....--.--- 
Appraisal of confiscated property — census--.-.-------------------- 
New treaty concluded but never ratified ....---.---.--------------- 
Boundaries of the Cherokee domain -...-----..-------------------- 
Delawares, Munsees, and Shawnees join the Cherokees ...-....----- 
Friendly tribes to be located on Cherokee lands west of 96° -..----- 
East and north boundaries of Cherokee country .-..---------------- 
Railroads through Indian Territory .....-------------+----+-------- 
Removal of intruders — Cherokee citizenship... .----..------------ 


(eras rllanss nade) Sa nooo Ke concoone scodea cancion coco so ocac pasorondssseonsasccs 


EE 


PED US RAT TONS. 


VII. Earliest map showing location of the Cherokees. 1597.--....... 
“VIII. Map of the former territorial limits of the Cherokee Nation of 
Indians, exhibiting the boundaries of the various cessions of 

land made by them to the colonies and to the United States. 

Le eS ye eitheabe oR SS SIGOFIO SEO a SABE ROR Ree Aen penne hea eran 

IX. Map showing the territory originally assigned to the Cherokee 
Indians west of the Mississippi River ; also, the boundaries of 

the territory now occupied or owned by them. 1884 ........-. 


PLATE 





*In pocket at the end of volume. 














Chague ry \. 


pag 
PLO? 


de S. Spirito 


Re 


FaARmtIiear as 


\ Ti APALCHE 


ee ey en eee eee eee 


FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. VII 


| 
* | = 














THE CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


By CHARLES C. ROYCE. 


INTRODUCTORY. 


An historical atlas of Indian affairs has for some time past been in 
course of preparation under the direction of the Bureau of Ethnology, 
Smithsonian Institution. 

The chief aim of this atlas isto show upon a series of State and Terri- 
torial maps the boundaries of the various tracts of country which have 
from time to time been acquired through the medium of treaty stipula- 
tion or act of Congress from the several Indian tribes resident within the 
present territory of the United States from the beginning of the Federal 
period to the present day. 

Accompanying this atlas will be one or more volumes of historical 
text, wherein will be given with some detail a history of the official re- 
lations between the United States and these tribes. This will treat of the 
various negotiations for peace and for the acquisition of territory, the 
causes rendering such negotiations necessary, and the methods observed 
by the Government through its authorized agents in this diplomacy, as 
well as other matters of public concern growing out of the same. 

The following monograph on the history of the Cherokees, with its 
accompanying maps, is given as an illustration of the character of the 
work in its treatment of each of the Indian tribes. 

‘The maps are intended to show not only the ancestral but tle present 
home of the Cherokees, and also to indicate the boundaries of the va- 
rious tracts of territory purchased from them by the Colonial or Federal 
authorities from time to time since their first contact with the European 
settlements. A number of purchases made prior to the Federal period 
by individuals were unauthorized and unrecognized by the Colonial au- 
thorities, and their boundaries, though given in the text, are not laid 
down upon the map, because the same areas of territory were after- 
wards included within the limits of Colonial purchases. 

In the preparation of this article, more particularly in the tracing out 
of the various boundary lines, much careful attention and research 
have been given to all available authorities or sources of information. 
The old manuscript records of the Government, the shelves of the Con- 

d ETu——9 129 


130 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


gressional Library, including its very large collection of American 
maps, local records, and the knowledge 6f ‘old settlers,” as well as the 
accretions of various State historical societies, have been made to pay 
tribute to the subject. 

In the course of these researches the writer has been met in his in- 
quiries with a degree of courtesy and kindly assistance that merits pub- 
lic recognition. 

Among others who have shown an earnest desire to promote the ob- 
ject of these investigations are Hon. John M. Lea, vice-president State 
Historical Society of Tennessee; General Robert N. Hood, Spencer Mun- 
son, and R. H. Armstrong, of Knoxville, Tenn. The writer is also 
deeply indebted to the Hon. Hiram Price, Commissioner of Indian Af- 
fairs, and E. L. Stevens, chief clerk, for the readiness with which they 
afforded him access to the records and files of the Indian Bureau. This 
permission was earnestly supplemented by the intelligent assistance 
and encouragement of Mr. C. A. Maxwell, chief of the Land Division, 
as well as that of R. F. Thompson and Paul Brodie, of the same Bu- 
reau, both of whom have taken special and constant pains to aid these 
researches. 

To Captain Adams, of the Bureau of Topographical Engineers, the 
hearty thanks of the writer are due for many courtesies extended in the 
examination of the voluminous and valuable collection of maps belong- 
jng to that branch of the public service, and equal credit must be given 
to Mr. G. P. Strum, principal draughtsman of the General Land Office, 
and his assistants, for their uniform courtesy in affording access to 
the official plats and records of that Bureau. 

The officers of the Congressicnal Library have also shown a marked 
degree of courtesy and interest. 


The various cessions of land by the Cherokees alluded to in the text 
are numerically designated upon the accompanying maps, and are as 


follows 
COLONIAL PERIOD. 





No. | Date and designation of Cherokee Treaties. | Description of cession. | Color. 





1 | Treaty of 1721 with South Carolina -.-.--- Tract in South Carolina between Santee, | Red. 
Saluda, and Edisto Rivers. 
2. Treaty of Noy. 24, 1755, with South Carolina, Tract in South Carolina between Wateree | Blue. 
and Savannah Rivers. 
3 | Treaty of Oct. 14, 1768, with British Super- | Tract in Southwestern Virginia .....-..-.. Mauve. 
intendent of Indian A ffairs, 
4 | Treaty of Oct. 18, 1770, at Lochaber, S.C..-| Tract in Virginia, West Virginia, North- Red. 
| eastern Tennessee, and Eastern Ken- 
tucky, which is overlapped by No. 7. 


5 | Treaty of 1772 with Virginia.......-...-.- | Tract in Virginia, West Virginia, audi Yellow. 
Eastern Kentucky. 
6 Treaty of June 1, 1773, with British Baa Tract in Georgia, north of Broad River..-.| Mauve. 


intendent of Indian Affairs. 
Treaty of March 17, 1775, with Richard | Tract in Kentucky, ie st and Tennes- | Blue. 

| Henderson et al. see (overlaps No.4 
8 | Treaty of May 20, 1777, with South Caro- | Tract i in Northwestern South Carolina..../ Red. 
lina and Georgia. 
9 | Treaty of July 20, 1777, with Virginia and| Tract in Western North Carolina and Green. 
North Carolina. | Northeastern Tennessee. | 
10 | Treaty of May 31, 1783, with Georgia.-..-. | Tract in Georgia, between Oconee and Green. 

| Tugaloo Rivers. | 


4 





lei oii | 4 ak el ee ee 


ROYCE. | 


INTRODUCTION. 


FEDERAL PERIOD. 





No. Date and designation of Cherokee Treaties. 


Description of cession. 





11 





| 
| Teeaty of Nov. 28, 1785, with United States 
1 


"Treaty of July 2, 1791, with United States 
Treaty of Oct. 2, 1798, with United States... 


Treaty of Oct. 24, 1804, with United States. 
| Treaty of Oct. 25, 1805, with United States 


| 
| Treaty of Oct. 27, 1805, with United States. 
\PReeRe GO swctae Are osbe sma cs ee seer 


eeee DO fe ae eee ees ee sence 
Treaty of Mar. 22, 1816, with United States. 
Treaty of Sept. 14, 1816, with United States- 
— of July 8, 1817, with United States 
eee (Oyceeeceeuacos 
epee Str ase geeks teeeeec Sco ESL eeS SaaS 





Treaty of Dec. 29, 1835, with United States- 


Treaty of May 6, 1828, with United States- 


Treaty of July 19, 1866, with United States. 








Present country of the Cherokees east of 
96° W. longitude. 


Present country of the Cherokees west of 
96° W. longitude. 





Tract in Western North Carolina.--.-.--. 


| Tract in Southern and Western Kentucky | 





Tract in Western North Carolina and | 
Eastern Tennessee. 

Tract in Tennessee, between Hawkins’ 
Line, Tennessee River, and Chilhowee | 
Mountain. | 

Tractin North Carolina, between Pickens 
and Meigs line. 

Tract in Tennessee, between Clinch River 
and Cumberland Mountain. 

Tract in Georgia, known as Wafford’s 
Settlement. | 

Tract in Kentucky and Tennessee, west | 
of Tennessee River and Cumberland | 
Mountain. 

| 
| 


and Northern Tennessee. | 
| 


Tract in Tennesseo of one section at 
Southwest Point. 

First island in Tennessee River above the 
month of Clinch River. 

Tract in Tennessee and Alabama, between 
Tennessee and Duck Rivers. 

Long or Great Island in Holston River- --- 

Tract in northwest corner of South Carolina 

Tract in Alabama and Mississippi - 

‘Tract in Northeastern Georgia. -..- 

Tract in Southern Tennessee ...-..- 

Tract in Northern Alabama, between 
Cypress and Elk Rivers. 

Tract in Northern Alabama, above mouth 
of Spring Creek on Tennessee River. 





-| Tract in Northern Alabama and Southern 


Tennessee. 

Tract in Southern Tennessee, on Tennes- 
see River. | 

Tract in Tennessee, North Carolina, and 
Georgia. 

Jolly’s Island, in Tennessee River.--..--. | 

Small tract in Tennessee, at and below the | 
mouth of Clinch River. | 

Tract of 12 miles square, on Tennessee 
River, in Alabama. 

Tract 1 mile square, in Tennessee, at foot 
of Cumberland Mountain. 

Tract of 1 mile square, at Cherokee Taloo- 
tiske’s residence. | 

Tract of 3 square miles, opposite mouth of | 
Hiwassee River. | 

Tractin Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee, 
being all remaining lands east of the 
Mississippi River. 

This treaty was with the Cherokees resid- 
ing west of the Mississippi, and they 
ceded the lands in Arkansas granted 
them by treaties of 1817 and 1819, receiv- 
ing in exchange a tract further west. | 
These latter boundaries were subse- 
quently modified and enlarged by the 
treaties of Feb. 14, 1833, and Dec. 29, 1835. 

Tract known as ‘*‘ Neutral Land,’ in Kan- 
sas,ceded intrust to besold by the United 
States for the benefit of the Cherokees. 

Tract known as ‘Cherokee Strip,” in Kan- 
sas, ceded in trust to be sold for the bene- 
fit of the Cherokees by the United States. 

Tract sold to Osages -.----..-- oeceeccoene: 

Tract sold to Kansas or Kaws 

Tract sold to Pawnees .......- 

Tract sold to Poncas..---- 

Tract sold to Nez Percés 

Tract sold to Otoes and Missourias .- 

This is the country now actually oceupied 
and to be permanently retained by the 
Cherokees. 

This is the remnant of the country dedi- 
cated by the treaty of July 19, 1866, to 
the location of other friendly tribes. 
‘The Cherokees retain their title to and 
control over it until actual purchase by 
and location of other tribes thereon. 





Yellow. 
Green. 


Red. 
Yellow. 


Green. 
Mauve. 
Red. 


Red. 
Blue. 
Green. 
Yellow. 
Green. 
Blue. 


| Blue. 


Yellow. 
Red. 
Mauve. 


Red. 
Green. 


Mauve. 
Green. 
Green. 
Green. 


Blue. 


Green. 








© ge ed 


132 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


The arrangement of the historical text has seemed to the writer to be 
that best suited to the object in view. As will be observed, an abstract 
of the salient provisions of each treaty is given, beginning with the 
first treaty concluded between the Cherokee Nation and the United 
States of America. In each instance, immediately following this ab-_ 
stract, will be found the historical data covering the period and the 
events leading to its negotiation, as well as those of the subsequent 
period intimately connected with the results of such treaty. 





TREATIES WITH THE CHEROKEES. 


TREATY CONCLUDED NOVEMBER 28, 1755.! 


At Hopewell, on the Keowee River, in South Carolina, between Benjamin 
Hawkins, Andrew Pickens, Joseph Martin, and Lachlane MIntosh, Com- 
missioners Plenipotentiary of the United States, and the Headmen and 
Warriors of all the Cherokees. 


MATERIAL PROVISIONS. 


The United States give peace to the Cherokees and receive them into 
favor and protection on the following conditions: 

1. The Cherokees to restore to liberty all prisoners citizens of the 
United States or subjects of their allies; also, all negroes and other 
property taken from citizens during the late war. 

2. The United States to restore to the Cherokees all Indian prisoners 
taken during the late war. 

3. The Cherokees to acknowledge themselves under the exclusive pro- 
tection of the United States. 

4. The boundary line between the Cherokees’ hunting-ground and the 
United States to be as follows, viz: Begin at the mouth of Duck River 
on the Tennessee; thence northeast to the ridge dividing the waters 
falling into the Cumberland from those falling into the Terinessee; thence 
eastwardly along said ridge to a northeast line to be run, which shall 
strike Cumberland River 40 miles above Nashville; thence along said 
line to the river; thence up the river to the ford where the Kentucky 
road crosses; thence to Campbell’s line near Cumberland Gap; thence 
to the mouth of Claud’s Creek on Holstein; thence to Chimney-Top 
Mountain, thence to Camp Creek, near the mouth of Big Limestone on 
Nolichucky ; thence southerly six (6) miles toa mountain; thence south 
to the North Carolina line; thence to the South Carolina Indian bound- 
ary, and along the same southwest over the top of Oconee Mountain 
till it shall strike Tugaloo River; thence a direct line to the top of 
Currohee Mountain; thence to the head of the south fork of Oconee 
River. 








' United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 12. 


134 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


5. Citizens of the United States or persons other than Indians who 
settle or attempt to settle on lands west or south of said boundary and 
refuse to remove within six months after ratification of this treaty to 
forfeit the protection of the United States, and the Indians to punish 
them or not, as they please: Provided, That this article shall not extend 
to the people settled between the fork of French Broad and Holstein 

Rivers, whose status shall be determined by Congress. 

6. The Cherokees to deliver up for punishment all Indian criminals 
for offenses against citizens of the United States. 

7. Citizens of the United States committing crimes against Indians 
to be punished by the United States in the presence of the Cherokees, 
to whom due notice of the time and place of such intended punishment 
shall be given. 

8. Retaliation declared unjust and not to be practiced. 

9. The United States to have sole right of regulating trade with the 
Indians and managing their affairs. 

10. Traders to have liberty to trade with the Cherokees until Congress 
shall adopt regulations relative thereto. 

11. Cherokees to give notice of any designs formed by other tribes 
against the peace, trade, or interests of the United States. 

12. Cherokees to have the right to send a deputy of their choice to 
Congress whenever they think fit. 

13. The hatchet to be forever buried between the United States and 
Cherokees. 


HISTORICAL DATA. 
FERNANDO DE SOTO’S EXPEDITION. 


The Cherokee Nation has probably occupied a more prominent place 
in the affairs and history of what is now the United States of America, 
since the date of the early European settlements, than any other tribe, 
nation, or confederacy of Indians, unless it be possible to except the 
powerful and warlike league of the Iroquois or Six Nations of New 
York. 

Tt is almost certain that they were visited at a very early period fol- 
lowing the discovery of the American continent by that daring and 
enthusiastic Spaniard, Fernando De Soto. 

In determining the exact route pursued by him from his landing in 
Florida to his death beyond the Mississippi, many insuperable difficul- 
ties present themselves, arising not only from an inadequate description 
on the part of the historian of the courses and distances pursued, but 
from many statements made by him that are irreconcilable with an 
accurate knowledge of the topographic detail of the country traversed. 

A narrative of the expedition, “‘ by a gentleman of Elvas,” was pub- 
lished at Evora in 1557, and translated from the Portuguese by Richard 
Hakiuyt, of London, in 1609. From this narrative it appears that 


ROYCE, ] TREATY OF NOVEMBER 28, 1785, _ 135 


after traveling a long distance in a northeasterly direction from his 
point of landing on the west coast of Florida, De Soto reached, in the 
spring of 1540, an Indian town called by the narrator Ga ami: 
qui.” From the early American maps of De L’Isle and other 8, upon which 
is delineated the supposed route of De Soto, this town appears to be 
located on the Santee River, and, as alleged by the “gentleman of 
Elvas,” on the authority of the inhabitants, was two days’ journey from 
the sea-coast. 

The expedition left Cutifachiqui on the 3d of May, 1540,and pursued 
a northward course for the period of seven days, when it came toa 
province called Chelaque, “the poorest country of maize that was seen in 
Florida.” It is recorded that the Indians of this province “feed upon 
roots and herbs, which they seek in the fields, and upon wild beasts, 
which they kill with their bows and arrows, and are a very gentle people. 
All of them go naked and are very lean.” 

That this word “Chalaque” is identical with our modern Cherokee 
would appear to be almost an*assured fact. The distance and route 
pursued by the expedition are both strongly corroborative of this as- 
sumption. The orthography of the name was probably taken by the 
Spaniards from the Muscogee pronunciation, heard by them among the 
Creeks, Choctaws, and Chickasaws. It is asserted by William Bar- 
tram, in his travels through that region in the eighteenth century, that 
in the ‘“‘Muscogulge” language the letter “r” is not sounded in a sin- 
gle word, but that on the contrary it occurs very frequently in the 
Cherokee tongue.! 

Through this province of Chalaque De Soto passed, still pursuing 
his northward course for five days until he reached the province of 
“ Xualla,” a name much resembling the modern Cherokee word Qualla. 
The route from Cutifachiqui to Xualla lay, for the most part, through 
a hilly country. From the latter province the expedition changed its 
course to the west, trending a little to the south, and over “very rough 
and high hills,” ee at the end of five Pag a town or province 
which was called “Guaxule,” and two days later a town called 
“Canasagua,” an orthography almost identical with the modern Chero- 
kee name of Canasauga, as applied to both a stream and a town within 
their Georgia limits. 

Assuming that these people, whose territory De Soto thus traversed, 
were the ancestors of the modern Cherokees, it is the first mention made 
of them by European discoverers and more than a century anterior to 
the period when they first became known to the pioneers of permanent 
European occupation and settlement. 

Earliest map.—The earliest map upon whieh I have found “ Chalaqua” 
located is that of “ Florida et Apalche” by Cornely Wytfliet, published 





'T ain informed by Colonel Bushyhead, reel chief of the loneane ae that 
Bartram is mistaken in his latter assumption. The letter ‘‘r” was never used ex- 
cept among the Overhill Cherokees, and occurred very infrequently with them. 


136 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


in 1597.1 This location is based upon the narrative of De Soto’s expe- 
dition, and is fixed a short distance east of the Savannah River and im- 
mediately south of the Appalachian Mountains. ‘ Xualla” is placed to 
the west of and near the headwaters of the “ Secco” or Savannah River. 


EARLY TRADITIONS. 


Haywood, in his Natural and Aboriginal History of Tennessee, 
records many of the traditions concerning the origin and the primal 
habitat of the Cherokees. He notes the fact that they were firmly 
established on the Tennessee or Hogohege River before the year 1650, 
and exercised dominion over all the country on the east side of the Alle- 
ghany Mountains, including the headwaters of the Yadkin, Catawba, 
Broad, and Savannah Rivers, and that from thence westward they 
claimed the country as far as the Ohio, and thence to the headwaters 
of the Chattahoochee and Alabama. One tradition which he alleges 
existed among them asserts their migration from the west to the upper 
waters of the Ohio, where they erected the mounds on Graye Creek, 
gradually working eastward across the Alleghany Mountains to the 
neighborhood of Monticello, Va., and along the Appomattox River. 

From this point, it is alleged, they removesl to the Tennessee country 
about 1623, when the Virginians suddenly and unexpectedly fell upon 
and massacred the Indians throughout the colony. After this mas- 
sacre, the story goes, they came to New River and made a temporary set- 
tlement there as well as one on the head of the Holston; but, owing to the 
enmity of the northern Indians, they removed in a short time to the Little 
Tennessee and founded what were known as “ Middle Settlements.” An- 
other tribe, he alleges, came from the neighborhood of Charleston, South 
Carolina, and settled lower down the Tennessee. This branch called 
themselves “ Ketawanga,” and came last into the country. The tradi- 
tion as to those who came from Virginia seeks also to establish the idea 
that the Powhatan Indians were Cherokees. The whole story is of the 
vaguest character, and if the remainder has no stronger claims to cred- 
ibility than their alleged identity with the Powhatans, it is scarcely 
worthy of record except as a matter of curiosity. 

Tn fact the explorations of De Soto leave almost convincing proof that 
the Cherokees were occupying a large proportion of their more modern 
territory nearly a century prior to their supposed removal from the 
Appomattox. 

Pickett, in his History of Alabama, improves upon the legend of Hay- 
wood by asserting as a well established fact what the latter only pre- 
sumes to offer as a tradition. 

However, as affording a possible confirmation of the legend related 
by Haywood concerning their early location in Eastern Virginia, it may 





'The full title of this work is ‘‘Descriptionis Ptolemaic Augmentum; sive Occi- 
dentis Notitia, breyi commentario illustrata, studio et opera Cornely Wytfliet, 
Lonaniensis. Lovanii, Typis lohannis Bogardi, anno Domini MDXCVII.” 


ROYCE. ] TREATY OF NOVEMBER 28, 1785. 137 


be worth while to allude to a tradition preserved among the Mohican or 
Stockbridge tribe. It appears that in 1818 the Delawares, who were 
then residing on White River, in Indiana, ceded their claim to lands 
in that region to the United States. This land had been conditionally 
given by the Miamis many years before to the Delawares, in conjunction 
with the * Moheokunnuks” (or Stockbridges) and Munsees. Many of the 
latter two tribes or bands, including a remnant of the Nanticokes, had not 
yet removed to their western possessions, though they were preparing to 
remove. When they ascertained that the Delawares had ceded the 
lands to the United States without their consent, they objected and 
sought to have the cession annulled. 

In connection with a petition presented to Congress by them on the 
subject in the year 1819, they set forth in detail the tradition alluded 
to. The story had been handed down to them from their ancestors that 
“many thousand moons ago” before the white men came over the * great 
water,” the Delawares dwelt along the banks of the river that bears 
their name. They had enjoyed a long era of peace and prosperity 
when the Cherokees, Nanticokes, and some other nation whose name 
had been forgotten, envying their condition, came from the south with 
a great army and made war upon them. They vanquished the Dela- 
wares and drove them to an island in the river. The latter sent for 
assistance to the Mohicans, who promptly came to their relief, and the in- 
vaders were in turn defeated with great slaughter and put to flight. 
They sued for peace, and it was granted on condition that they should 
return home and never again make war on the Delawares or their allies. 
These terms were agreed to and the Cherokees and Nanticokes ever re- 
mained faithful to the conditions of the treaty. 

The inference to be drawn from this legend, if it can be given any 
eredit whatever, would lead to the belief that the Cherokees and the Nan- 
ticokes were at that time neighbors and allies. The original home of 
the Nanticokes on the Eastern Shore of Maryland is well known, and 
if the Cherokees (or at least this portion of them) were then resident 
beyond the Alleghanies, with sundry other powerful tribes oceupying 
the territory between them and the Nanticokes, it is unlikely that any 
such alliance for offensive operatiens would have existed between them. 
Kither the tradition is fabulous or at least a portion of the Cherokees 
were probably at one time residents of the Eastern Slope of Virginia. 

The Delawares also have a tradition that they came originally from 
the west, and found a tribe called by them Allegewi or Allegans occu- 
pying the eastern portion of the Ohio Valley. With the aid of the Iro- 
quois, with whom they came in contact about the same time, the 
Delawares succeeded in driving the Allegans out of the Ohio Valley to 
the southward. 

Schoolcraft suggests the identity of the Allegans with the Cherokees, 
an idea that would seem to be confirmatory of the tradition given by 
Haywood, in so far as it relates to an early Cherokee occupancy of Ohio. 


138 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 
EARLY CONTACT WITIL VIRGINIA COLONISTS. 


Whatever the degree of probability attending these legends, it would 
seem that the settlers of Virginia had an acquaintance with the Chero- 
kees prior to that of the South Carolina immigrants, who for a number 
of years after their first occupation confined their explorations to a 
narrow strip of country in the vicinity of the seacoast, while the Vir- 
ginians had been gradually extending their settlements far up toward 
the headwaters of the James River and had early perceived the profits 
to be derived from the Indian trade. 

Sir William Berkeley, governor of Virginia, equipped an expedition, 
consisting of fourteen Englishmen and an equal number of Virginia 
Indians, for the exploration of the country to the west of the exist- 
ing settlements. The party was under the command of Capt. Henry 
Batt, and in seven days’ travel from their point of departure, at Appo- 
mattox, they reached the foot of the mountains. The first ridge they 
crossed is described as not being very high or steep, but the succeed- 
ing ones ‘seemed to touch the clouds,” and were so steep that an av- 
erage day’s march did not exceed three miles. 

They came upon extensive and fertile valleys, covered with luxuriant 
grass, and found the forests abounding in all kinds of game, including 
turkeys, deer, elk, and buffalo. After passing beyond the mountains 
they entered an extensive level country, through which a stream flowed 
in a westward course, and after following it for a few days they reached 
some old fields and recently deserted Indian cabins. Beyond this point 
their Indian guides refused to proceed, alleging that not far away dwelt 
a powerful tribe that never suffered strangers who discovered their 
towns to return alive, and the expedition was therefore compelled to 
return. According to the historian, Burke, this expedition took place 
in 1667, while Beverly, not quite so definite, assigns it to the decade 
between 1666 and 1676.! It is believed that the powerful nation of 
Indians alluded to in the narrative of this expedition was the Cherokees, 
and, if so, itis apparently the first allusion made to them in the history 
of the colonial settlements. 

That the Virginians were the first to be brought in contact with the 
Cherokees is further evidenced by the fact that in 1690 an Indian trader 
from that colony, bearing the name of Daugherty, had taken up his 
residence among them, which is alleged by the historian? to have been 
several years before any knowledge of the existence of the Cherokees 
reached the settlers on Ashley River in South Carolina. 


EARLY RELATIONS WITH CAROLINA COLONISTS. 


The first formal introduction of the Cherokees to the notice of the 
people of that colony occurred in the year 1693,° when twenty Cherokee 











'Campbell’s Virginia, p. 268. 
2?Logan’s South Carolina, Vol. I, p. 168. 
® Martin’s North Carolina, Vol. I, p. 194. 


Royce. ] TREATY OF NOVEMBER 28, 1785. 39 


chiefs visited Charleston, with proposals of friendship, and at the same 
time solicited the assistance of the governor in their operations against 
the Esau and Coosaw tribes, who had captured and earried off a number 
of Cherokees. 

The Savannah Indians, it seems, had also been engaged in incursions 
against them, in the course of which they had captured a number of 
Cherokees and sold them to the colonial authorities as slaves. 

The delegation urgently solicited the governor’s protection from the 
further aggressions of these enemies and the return of their bondaged 
countrymen. The desired protection was promised them, but as their 
enslaved brethren had already been shipped to the West Indies and 
sold into slavery there, it was impossible to return them. 

The extreme eastern settlements of the Cherokees at this time were 
within the limits of the present Chester and Fairfield districts, South 
Carolina, which lie between the Catawba and Broad Rivers.! 


MENTION BY VARIOUS EARLY AUTHORS. 


We next find an allusion to the Cherokees in tbe annals of Louisiana 
by M. Pericaut, who mentions in his chronicle of the events of the year 
1702, that ‘* ten leagues from the mouth of this river [Ohio] another 
falls into it called Kasquinempas [Tennessee]. It takes its source from 
the neighborhood of the Carolinas and passes through the village of the 
Cherokees, a populous nation that number some fifty thousand war- 
riors,” another example of tle enormous overestimates of aboriginal: pop- 
ulation to which the earlier travelers and writers were so prone. 

Again, in 1708, the same author relates that ‘‘about this time two Mo- 
bilians who had married in the Alibamon nation, and who lived among 
them with their families, discovered that that nation was inimical to 
the Mobilians as well as the French, and had made a league with the Che- 
raquis, the Abeikas, and the Conchaques to wage war against the French 
and Mobilians and burn their villages around our fort.” 

On various early maps of North America, and particularly those of 
De L’Isle, between the years 1700 and 1712, will be found indicated upon 
the extreme headwaters of the Holston and Clinch Rivers, “ gros villages 
des Cheraqui.” These villages correspond in location with the great na- 
tior® alluded to in the narrative of Sir William Berkeley’s expedition. 

Upon the same maps will be found designated the sites of sundry 
other Cherokee villages, several of which are on the extreme headwaters 
of the “Rh. des Chaouanons.” This river, although indicated on the 
map as emptying into the Atlantic Ocean to the west of the Santee, 
from its relation to the other streams in that vicinity, is believed to be 
intended for the Broad River, which is a principal northwest branch of 
the Santee. Other towns will also be found on the banks of the Upper 
Catawba, and they are, as well, quite numerous along the headwaters 
of the *“‘ R. des Caouilas ” or Savannah and of the Little Tennessee. 








*Logan’s South Carolina, Vol. i, p. 14i. 


140 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


Mention is again found of the Cherokees in the year 1712, when 218 
of them accompanied Colonel Barnwell in his expedition against the 
hostile Tuscaroras and aided in the subjugation of that savage tribe, 
though along the route of Barnwell’s march the settlers were very nearly 
persuaded that they suffered greater damage to property from the 
freebooting propensities of their Indian allies than from the open hos- 
tilities of their savage enemies. 

The old colonial records of South Carolina also contain mention in the 
following year (1713) of the fact that Peter St. Julien was arraigned on 
the charge of holding two Cherokee women in slavery.! 

In 1715 the Yamassees, a powerful and hitherto friendly tribe, oceu- 
pying the southwesterly portion of the colony of South Carolina and 
extending to and beyond the Savannah River, declared open hostilities 
against the settlers. In the desperate struggle that ensued, we find in 
full alliance with them the Cherokees, as well as the Creeks and Ap- 
palachians. 

In his historical journal of the establishment of the French in Lou- 
isiana, Bernard de la Harpe states that “in January, 1716, some of the 
Cheraquis Indians, who lived northeast of Mobile, killed MM. de Ramsay 
and de Longueil. Some time after, the father of the latter gentleman, 
the King’s lieutenant in Canada, engaged the Iroquois to surprise this 
tribe. They sacked two of their villages and obliged the rest to retreat 
towards New England.” 


TERRITORY OF CHEROKEES AT PERIOD OF ENGLISIT SETTLEMENT. 


At the time of the English settlement of the Carolinas the Chero- 
kees occupied a diversified and well-watered region of country of large 
extent upon the waters of the Catawba, Broad, Saluda, Keowee, i'uga- 
loo, Savannah, and Coosa Rivers on the east and south, and several of 
the tributaries of the Tennessee on the north and west. It is impossible 
at this late day to define with absolute accuracy the original limits of 
the Cherokee claim. In fact, like all other tribes, they had no definite 
and concurrent understanding with their surrounding savage neighbors 
where the possessions of the one left off and those of the other began. 
The strength of their title to any particular tract of country usually 
decreased in proportion to the increase of the distance from their®vil- 
lages; and it commonly followed as a result, that a considerable strip 
of territory between the settlements of two powerful tribes, though 
claimed by both, was practically considered as neutral ground and the 
common hunting ground of both. 

As has already been stated, the extreme eastern settlements of the 
Cherokees in South Carolina in 1693 were in the district of country lying 
between the Catawba and Broad Rivers, and no claim has been found 
showing the existence at any time of any assertion of territorial right 





' Logan’s South Carolina, Vol. I, p. 182. 


ROYCE.) . TREATY OF NOVEMBER 28, 1785. - 141 


in their behalf to the east of the former stream. But nevertheless, on 
Bowen’s map of 1752 (obviously copied from earlier maps), there is 
laid down the name of “ Keowee Old Town.” The location of this town 
was on Deep River in the vicinity of the present town of Ashborough, 
N.C. It was a favorite name of the Cherokees among their towns, and 
affords a strong evidence of at least a temporary residence of a portion 
of the tribe in that vicinity. A map executed by John Senex in 1721 
defines the Indian boundary in this region as following the Catawba, 
Wateree, and Santee Rivers as far down as the most westerly bend of the 
latter streain, in the vicinity of the boundary line between Orangeburg 
and Charleston districts, whence it pursued a southwesterly course to 
the Edisto River, which it followed to the sea-coast. The southern 
portion of this boundary was of course a definition of limits between 
Carolina and the Creeks, or rather of certain tribes that formed compo- 
nent parts of the Creek confederacy. No evidence has been discovered 
tending to show an extension of Cherokee limits in a southerly direce- 
tion beyond the point mentioned above on the Edisto River, which, as 
near as can be ascertained, was at the junction of the North and South 
Edisto. Following from thence up the South Edisto to its source the 
boundary pursued a southwesterly course, striking the Savannah River 
in the vicinity of the mouth of Stevens Creek, and proceeding thence 
northwardly along the Savannah. 

On the borders of Virginia and North Carolina the ancient limits of 
the Cherokees seem to be also shrouded in more or less doubt and con- 
fusion. In general terms, however, it may be said that after following 
the Catawba River to its source in the Blue Ridge the course of those 
mountains was pursued until their intersection with the continuation 
of the Great Iron Mountain range, near Floyd Court-House, Va., and 
thence to the waters of the Kanawha or New River, whence their claim 
continued down that stream to the Ohio. At a later date they also set 
up a claim to the country extending from the mouth of the Kanawha 
down the Ohio to the ridge dividing the waters of the Cumberland from 
those of the Tennessee at the mouths of those streams, and thence fol- 
lowing that ridge to a point northeast of the mouth of Duck River; 
thence to the mouth of Duck River on the Tennessee, and coutinuing up 
with the course of the latter river to Bear Crecl: ; up the latter to a point 
ealled Flat Rock, and thence to the Ten Islands in Coosa River, &e. 

That portion of the country thus covered, comprising a large part of 
the present States of West Virginia and Kentucky, was also claimed by 
the Six Nations by right of former conquest, as well as by the Shawnees 
and Delawares. 

Adair, a trader for forty years among the Cherokees, who traveled 
extensively through their country about the middle of the eighteenth 
century, thus specifically outlines the boundaries of their country at 
that period: “The country lies in about 34 degrees north latitude at the 
distance of 340 computed miles to the northwest of Charlestown,—140 


142. CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


miles west-southwest from the Katahba Nation,—and almost 200 miles 
to the north of the Muskohge or Creek country. They are settled nearly 
in an east and west course about 140 miles in length from the lower 
towns, where Fort-Prince-George stands, to the late unfortunate Fort- 
Loudon. The natives make two divisions of their country, which they 
term ‘Ayrate’ and ‘Otarre,” the one signifying ‘low’ and the other 
‘mevntainous.’” ; 


POPULATION. 


In point of numbers the Cherokee population now considerably exceeds 
that first enumerated by the early colonial authorities. As early as 1715 
the proprietors of the South Carolina Plantation instructed Governor 
Robert Johnson to cause a census to be taken of all the Indian tribes 
within that jurisdiction, and from his report it appears that the Chero- 
kee Nation at that time contained thirty towns and an aggregate pop- 
ulation of 11,210, of whom 4,000 were warriors. Adair alleges that in 
1735, or thereabouts, according to the computation of the traders, their 
warriors numbered 6,000, but that in 1758 the ravages of the small-pox 
reduced their population one-half within one year. Indeed, this disas- 
ter, coupled with the losses sustained in their conflicts with the whites 
and with neighboring tribes, had so far wasted their ranks that a half 
century after the census taken by Governor Johnson they were estimated 
by the traders to have but 2,300 warriors.1. By the last report of the 
Commissioner of Indian Affairs the total population is estimated to num- 
ber 22,000.22 It is true that considerable of this increase is attributable 
to the fact that several other small tribes or bands, within a few.years 
past, have merged their tribal existence in that of the Cherokees. In- 
dependent of this fact, however, they have maintained a slow but steady 
increase in numbers for many years, with the exceptien of the severe © 
losses sustained during the disastrous period of the late southern rebel- 
lion. j 


OLD CHEROKEE TOWNS. 


It is perhaps impossible to give a complete list of the old Cherokee 
towns and their location; but in 1755 the authorities of South Carolina, 
in remodeling the old and prescribing new regulations for the govern- 
ment of the Indian trade, divided the whole Cherokee country into six 
hunting districts, viz: 

1. Over Hill Towns.—Great Tellico, Chatugee, Tennessee, Chote, 
Toqua, Sittiquo, and Talassee. 

2. Valley Towns.—Euforsee, Conastee, Little Telliquo, Cotocanahut, 
Nayowee, Tomatly, and Chewohe. 

3. Middle Towns.—Joree, Watoge, Nuckasee. 





1 Adair’s American Indians, 
2 Report Commissioner Indian Affairs for 1883, p. 272. 


Royce. | TREATY OF NOVEMBER 28, 1785. 143 


4. Keowee Towns.—Keowee, Tricentee, Echoee, Torsee, Cowee, Tor- 
salla, Coweeshee, and Elejoy. 

5. Out Towns.—Tucharechee, Kittowa, Conontoroy, Steecoy, Ousta- 
nale, and Tuckasegee. 

6. Lower Towns.—Tomassee, Oustestee, Cheowie, Estatoie, Tosawa, 
Keowee, and Oustanalle. 

About twenty years later, Bartram,' who traversed the country, gives 
the names of forty-three Cherokee towns and villages then existing and 
‘uhabited as follows: 





No. . Name. | Where situated. 





LTE es iis” SESE RSE ae ee pees | 
Nucasse 
Whatoga 
| LEN CURE SSSR ORE eesebies 


On the Tanase east of the Jore Mountains. 


WAN Ger = Shee oe eas ceeeeiae 


we 
i 
S 
o 
2 
® 





} 
MOD 222 eo aes Spee a r Tnland, on the branches of the Tanase. 
J 
| 
iD NC lenituneN ene sete sae ae conan seai| { 


On the Tanase over the Jore Mountains. 












15 Quanuse * 


16 ‘Tellowe 
17 | Tellico... 
18  Chatuga 
19 | Hiwasse 
20 Chewas 
21 Nuanba 
22 | Yallase ---.-.-. 


Inland towns on the branches of the Tanase and other wa- 
ters over the Jore Mountains. 





a 
oy 
i=} 
is} 
3 


27 Pataaaat os eee eam ae 
28 | Tamahle-- 


» Overhill towns on the Tanase or Cherokee River. 


31 | Nilaque -- 
32) Niowe - 
CEG SHC eee ean he OP ae eee ae Reo 
34 | Keowe.. ani 
Ee IBS 0 ECO ca ae 
WSROPUO) eau. os eeceee seis seco ene 
HERLOLO WG ce eetertnniae eee sheet 
Guinlnton aimee sserc tote toes 
(SU) Cw Be See eee 
Estotowe, great -.--..---..--..--. 
2A | AML SRS Eats eae 
42| Jore..... 4a22 
43 NSS OCHO). 52 2an eee e ene eee sn | 





Lower towns east of the mountains on the Savanna or 
Keowe River. 


Lower towns east of the mountains on Tugilo River 


Lower towns on Flint River. 


mo 
of 


» Towns on the waters of other rivers. 





Mouzon’s map of 1771 gives the names of several Lower Cherokee 
towns not already mentioned. Among these may be enumerated, on 
the Tugaleo River and its branches, Turruraw, Nayowee, Tetolhe, 
Chagee, Tussee, Chicherohe, Echay, and Takwashnaw; on the Keowee, 
New Keowee, and Quacoretcke; and on the Seneca, Acounee. 

In subsequent years, through frequent and long continued conflicts 
with the ever advancing white settlements and the successive treaties 
whereby the Cherokees gradually yielded portions of their domain, the 





1 Bartram’s Travels in North America from 1773 to 1778, p. 371. 


144 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


location and names of their towns were continually changing until the 
final removal of the nation west of the Mississippi.' 


EXPULSION OF SHAWNEES BY CHEROKEES AND GHICKASAWS. 


In the latter portion of the seventeenth century the Shawnees, or a 
portion of them, had their villages on the Cumberland, and to some 
extent, perhaps, on the Tennessee also. They were still occupying that 
region as late as 1714, when they were visited by M. Charleville, a French 
trader, but having about this time incurred the hostility of the Chero- 
kees and Chickasaws they were driven from the country. Many years 
later, in the adjustment of a territorial dispute between the Cherokees 
and Chickasaws, each nation claimed the sole honor of driving out the 
Shawnees, and hence, by right of conquest, the title to the territory 
formerly inhabited by the latter. The Chickasaws evidently had the 
best of the controversy, though some concessions were made te the 
Cherokees in the matter when the United States came to negotiate for 
the purchase of the controverted territory. 


TREATY RELATIONS WITIL THE COLONIES. 


Treaty and purchase of 1721.—The treaty relations between the Cher- 
okees and the whites began in 1721, when jealousy of French territo- 
rial encroachments persuaded Governor Nicholson of South Carolina to 
invite the Cherokees to a general congress, with a view to the conclu- 
sion of a treaty of peace and commerce. 

The invitation was accepted, and delegates attended from thirty-seven 
towns, with whom, after smoking the pipe of peace and distributing 
presents, he agreed upon defined boundaries and appointed an agent 
to superintend their affairs.” 

Treaty of 1730.—Again, in 1730, the authorities of North Carolina 
commissioned Sir Alexander Cumming to conclude a treaty of alliance 
with the Cherokees. In April of that year the chiefs and warriors of 
the nation met him at Requasse, near the sources of the Hiwassee River, 
acknowledged King George as their sovereign, and sent a delegation of 
six warriors to carry the crown of the nation (consisting of five eagle 
tails and four scalps) to England and do homage to the King, where they 
concluded a treaty of peace and commerce at Dover on the 30th of June. 


1 From a distribution roll of Cherokee annuities paid in the year 1799 it appears 
that there were then 51 Cherokee towns, designated as follows: Oostinawley, Creek 
Path, Aumoia, Nicojack, Running Water, Ellijay, Cabben, High Tower, Pine Log, 
High Tower Forks, Tocoah, Coosawaytee, Crowtown, Shoemeck, Aumuchee, Tulloolah, 
Willstown, Acohee, Cuclon, Duck-town, Ailigulsha, Highwassee, Tennessee, Lookout 
Mountain, Noyohee, Tusquittee, Coosa, Nantiyallee, Saukee, Keyukee, Red Bank, 
Nukeza, Cowpens, Telassee, Buffalo Town, Little Tellico, Rabbit Trap, Notley, Turnip 
Mountain, Sallicoah, Kautika, Tausitu, Watoga, Cowee, Chillhoway, Chestuee, Tur- 
key Town, Toquah, Chota, Big Tellico, and Tusskegee. 

*Ramsey’s Annals of ‘Tennessee, p. 46. 


ROYCE. | TREATY OF NOVEMBER 23, 17s5. 145 


In this treaty they stipulated : 

1. To submit to the sovereignty of the King and his successors. 

2. Not to trade with any other nation but the English. 

3. Not to permit any but English to build forts or cabins or plant corn 
among them. 

4. To apprehend and deliver runaway negroes, 

5. To surrender any Indian killing an Englishman.! 

Treaty and purchase of 1755.—November 24, 1755, a further treaty was 
concluded between the Cherokees and Governor Glenn, of South Caro- 
lina. By its terms the former ceded to Great Britain a territory which 
included the limits of the modern districts of Abbeville, Edgefield, 
Laurens, Union, Spartanburg, Newberry, Chester, Fairfield, Richland, 
and York, and deeds of conveyance were drawn up and formally exe- 
cuted therefor.2 This cession included a tract of country between the 
Broad and Catawba Rivers which was also claimed and generally con- 
ceded to belong to the Catawba Nation, the boundary line between the 
latter and the Cherokees being usually fixed as the Broad River.’ One 
of the main objects of this treaty was to prevent an alliance between 
the Cherokees and the French. 

Treaty of 1756.—In the year 1756 Hugh Waddell was commissioned 
by the authorities of North Carolina to treat with the Cherokees and 
Catawbas. In pursuance of this authority he concluded a treaty of 
alliance with both nations.‘ Governor Glenn, also, in the same year 
erected a chain of military posts on the frontiers of his recent purchase. 
These consisted of Fort Prince George, on the Savannah, within gun- 
shot of the Indian town of Keowee; Fort Moore, 170 miles farther 
down the river; and Fort London, on the south bank of Tennessee 
River, at the highest point of navigation, at the mouth of Tellico River.® 

Captain Jack’s purchase.—A grant si gned by Arthur Dobbs, governor 
of North Carolina, et al., and by The Little Carpenter, half king of the 
Over-Hill Cherokees, made to Capt. Patrick Jack, of Pennsylvania, is 
recorded in the register’s office of Knox County, Tennessee. It pur- 
ports to have been made at a council held at Tennessee River, March 
1, 1757, consideration $400, and conveys to Captain Jack 15 miles 
Square south of Tennessee River. The grant itself confirmatory of the 
purchase by Captain Jack is dated at a general council held at Catawba 
River, May 7, 1762.5 

Treaty of 1760.—The French finally succeeded in enlisting the active 
sympathy of the Cherokees in their war with Great Britain. Governor 





' Martin’s North Carolina, Vol. II, pp. 3,9, and 11. 

* Hewat’s History of South Carolina and Georgia, Vol. II, pp. 203, 204. 

* Broad River was formerly known as Eswaw-Huppedaw or Line River. See Mills’ 
Statistics of South Carolina, p. 555. 

*Williamson’s North Carolina, Vol. II, p. 87. 

*Martin’s North Carolina, Vol. II, p. 87. 

* Ramsey’s Annals of Tenuessee, p. 68. 


5 nH ——— 1.0 


146 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


Littleton, of South Carolina, marched against the Indians and dtfeated 
them, after which, in 1760, he concluded a treaty of peace with them. 
3y its terms they agreed to kill or imprison every Frenchman who 
should come into their country during the continuance of the war be- 
tween France and Great Britain.! 

Treaty. of 1761.—The hostile course of the Cherokees being still con- 
tinued, the authorities of South Carolina in 1761 dispatched Colonel 
Grant with a force sufficient to overcome them. After destroying their 
crops and fifteen towns he compelled a truce, following which Lieu- 
tenant Governor Bull concluded a treaty with them at Ashley Ferry, or 
Charleston.? By this instrument the boundaries between the Indians 
and the settlements were declared to be the sources of the great rivers 
flowing into the Atlantic Ocean. 

In 1767 the legislature of North Carolina made an appropriation and 
the governor appointed three commissioners for running a dividing-line 
between the western settlements of tbat province and the Cherokee 
hunting grounds.’ 

Treaty and purchase of 1768.—Mr. Stuart, the British superintendent 
of Indian affairs, on the 14th of October, 1768, concluded a treaty. with 
the Cherokees at Hard Labor, South Carolina. Therein it was agreed 
that the southwest boundary of Virginia should be a line “ extending 
from the point where the northern line of North Carolina intersects the 
Cherokee hunting grounds about 36 miles east of Long Island in the 
Holston River; and thence extending in a direct course north by east: 
to Chiswell’s mine on the east bank of the Kenhawa River, and thence 
down that stream to its junction with the Ohio.” 

This treaty was made in pursuance of appeals from the Indians to 
stop further encroachments of settlers upon their lands and to have 
their boundaries definitely fixed, especially in the region of the north 
fork of Holston River and the headwaters of the Kanawha. 

Treaty and purchase of 1770.—The settlements having encroached 
beyond the line fixed by the treaty of 1768, a new treaty was concluded 
on the 18th October, 1770, at Lochabar, South Carolina. A new bound- 
ary line was established by this treaty commencing on the south bank 
of Holston River six miles east of Long Island, and running thence to 
the mouth of the Great Kanawha.° 

Treaty and purchase of 1772.—The Virginia authorities in the early 
part of 1772 concluded a treaty with the Cherokees whereby a bound- 
ary line was fixed between them, which was to run west from White 
Top Mountain in latitude 36° 30/0. This boundary left those settlers on 





'Martin’s North Carolina, Vol. II, p. 106. 
2Tb., Vol. II, p. 152. 

3Ib., Vol. Il, p. 226. 

4*Ramsey’s Annals of Tennessee, p. 76. 
5Ib., p. 102. 

®Tb., p. 109. 


ROYCE. ] TREATY OF NOVEMBER 28, 1785 147 


the Watauga River within the Indian limits, whereupon, as a measure 
of temporary relief, they leased for a period of eight years from the 
Indians in consideration of goods to the value of five or six thousand 
dollars all the country on the waters of the Watauga. Subsequently 
in 1775 [March 19] they secured a deed in fee simple therefor upon the 
further consideration of £2,000. This deed was executed to Charles 
Robertson as the representative or trustee of the Watauga Settlers’ Asso- 
ciation, and embraced the following tract of country, viz: All that tract 
on the waters of the Watauga, Holston, and Great Canaway or New 
River, beginning on the south or southwest of Holston River six miles 
above Long Island in that river; thence a direct line in nearly a south 
course to the ridge dividing the waters of Watauga from the waters of 
Nonachuckeh and along the ridge in a southeasterly direction to the 
Blue Ridge or line dividing North Carolina from the Cherokee lands; 
thence along the Blue Ridge to the Virginia line and west along such 
line to the Holston River; thence down the Holston River to the begin- 
ning, including all the waters of the Watauga, part of the waters of the 
Holston, and the head branches of New River or Great Canaway, agree- 
able to the aforesaid boundaries. 

Jacob Broun’s purchase-—Jacob Brown, in 1772, for a horse load of 
goods leased from the Cherokees a tract on the Watauga and Nona- 
chucky Rivers. 

Three years later (March 25, 1775) for a further consideration of ten 
shillings he secured from them a deed in fee for the leased tract as well 
as an additional tract of considerable extent. 

The boundary of the first of these bodies of land ran from the mouth 
of Great Limestone Creek, thence up the same and its main fork to the 
ridge dividing the Wataugah and Nonachuchy Rivers; thence to the head 
of Indian Creek, where it joins the Great Iron Mountains, and along 
those mountains to the Nonachuchy River; across the Nonachuchy River, 
including its creeks, and down the side of Nonachuchy Mountain against 
the mouth of Great Limestone Creek and from thence to the place of 
beginning. 

The second purchase comprised a tract lying on the Nonachuchy 
River below the mouth of Big Limestone on both sides of the river and 
adjoining the tract just described. Its boundaries were defined as 
beginning on the south side of the Nonachuchy River below the old 
fields that lie below the Limestone on the north side of Nonachuchy 
Mountain at a large rock; thence north 32° west to the mouth of Camp 
Creek on the south side of the river; thence across the river; thence pur- 
suing a northwesterly course to the dividing ridge between Lick Creek 
and Watauga or Holston River, thence along the dividing ridge to the 
rest of Brown’s lands; thence down the main fork of Big Limestone to 
its mouth; thence crossing the Nonachuchy River and pursuing a 





!Ramsey’s Aunals of Tennessee, p. 119. 


148 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


straight course to the Nonachuchy Mountains and along such mount- 
ains to the beginning." 

Treaty and purchase of 1775.—On the 1st of June, 1773, a treaty 
was concluded jointly with the Creeks and Cherokees by the British 
superintendent whereby they ceded to Great Britain a tract beginning 
where the lower Creek path intersects the Ogeechee River, thence along 
the main channel of that river to the source of the southernmost branch- 
thereof; thence along the ridge between the waters of Broad and Oconee 
Riversup to the Buffalo Lick; thence in a straight line tothe tree marked 
by the Cherokees near the head of the branch falling into the Oconee 
River [on the line between Clarke and Oglethorpe Counties, about 5 
miles southeast of Athens] ; thence along the said ridge 20 miles above 
the line already run by the Cherokees, and from thence across to the 
Savannah River by a.line parallel to that formerly marked by them. 

Henderson’s purchase by the treaty of 1775.—On the 17th of March, 
1775, Richard Henderson and eight other private citizens concluded a 
treaty with the Cherokees at Sycamore Shoals, on Watauga River. By 
its terms they became the purchasers from the latter (in consideration 
of £10,000 worth of merchandise) of all the lands lying between Ken- 
tucky and Cumberland Rivers, under the name of the Colony of Tran- 
sylvania in North America. This purchase was contained in two deeds, 
one of which was commonly known as the ‘‘ Path Deed,” and conveyed 
the following described tract: ‘“‘ Begin on the Holston River, where 
the course of Powell’s Mountain strikes the same; thence up the 
river to the crossing of the Virginia line; thence westerly along the 
line run by Donelson * * * toa point six (6) English miles east of 
Long Island in Holston River; thence a direct course towards the mouth 
of the Great Kanawha until it reaches the top of the ridge of Pow- 
ell’s Mountain; thence westerly along said ridge to the beginning.” 

This tract was located in Northeast Tennessee and the extreme south- 
western corner-of Virginia.” The second deed covered a much larger 
area of territory and was generally known as the ‘Great Grant.” It 
comprised the territory “ beginning on the Ohio River at the mouth of 
the Kentucky, Cherokee, or what, by the English, is called Louisa 
River; thence up said river and the most northwardly fork of the same 
to the head-spring thereof; thence a southeast course to the ridge of 
Powell’s Mountain ; thence westwardly along the ridge of said moun- 
tain to a point from which a northwest course will strike the head- 





‘Ramsey’s Annals of Tennessee, pp. 110, 121. 

> There seems to be a confused idea in this description as to the identity of Powell’s 
Mountain. This was doubtless occasioned by a lack of definite knowledge concern- 
ing the topography of the country. This ridge, as it is commonly known, does not 
touch the Holston River, but lies between Powell’s and Clinch Rivers. The mountains 
supposed to be alluded to in that portion of the description are a spur of the Clinch 
Mountains, which close in on the Holston River, near the mouth of Cloud’s Creek. 


ROYCE. ] TREATY OF NOVEMBER 28, 1785. 149 


spring of the most southwardly branch of Cumberland River; thence 
down said river, including all its waters, to the Ohio River; thence 
up said river as it meanders to the beginning.”! This tract com- 
prises nearly the whole of Central and Western Kentucky as well as 
part of Northern Central Tennessee. Although aliteral reading of these 
boundaries would include all the territory watered by the Cumberland 
River and its branches, the general understanding seems to have been 
(and it is so specifically stated in the report of the treaty commissioners 
of 1785) that Henderson’s purchase did not extend south of Cumberland 
River proper.’ The entire purchase included in both these deeds is 
shown as one tract on the accompanying map of cessions and num- 
bered 7. 

In this connection it is proper to remark that all of these grants to 
private individuals were regarded as legally inoperative, though in 
some instances the beneficiaries were permitted to enjoy the benefits of 
their purchases in a modified degree. All such purchases had been 
inhibited by royal proclamation of King George III, under date of Oc- 
tober 7, 1763, wherein all provincial governors were forbidden to grant 
lands or issue land warrants loeatable upon any territory west of the 
mountains or of the sources of streams flowing into the Atlantic. All 
private persons were enjoined from purchasing lands from the Indians. 
All purchases made of such lands should be for the Crown by the goy- 
ernor or commander-in-chief of the colony at some general council or 
assembly of the Indians convened for that purpose. 

In the particular purchase made by Henderson and his coadjutors, 
the benefits thereof were afterwards claimed by the authorities of Vir- 
ginia and North Carolina for those States, as the successors of the 
royal prerogative within their respective limits. In consideration, 
however, of Henderson’s valuable services on the frontier, and in com- 
pensation for his large expenditures of money in negotiating the pur- 
chase, the legislature of North Carolina in 1783 granted to him and 
those interested with him a tract of 200,000 acres,‘ constituting a strip 
4 miles in width from old Indian town on Powell’s River to the mouth, 
and thence a strip down the Clinch River for quantity 12 miles in width. 
The legislature of Virginia also granted them a tract of like extent upon 
the Ohio River, opposite Evansville, Indiana? 

Treaties and purchases of 1777.—In consequence of continued hostili- 
ties between the Cherokees and the settlers, General Williamson in 1776 


* American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 38. 
*Martin’s North Carolina, Vol. II, p. 339. 
‘Haywood’s Tennessee, pp. 16, 17. 

*Ramsey’s Annals of Tennessee, p. 204, 


150 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


another force from North Carolina and Colonel Christian a third from Vir- 
ginia, and destroyed most of their principal towns on the Tennessee.! 
At the conclusion of hostilities with the Cherokees, following these 
expeditions, a treaty with them was concluded May 20, 1777, at De 
Witt’s or Duett’s Corners, South Carolina, by the States of South Car- 
olina and Georgia. By the terms of this treaty the Indians ceded a 
considerable region of country upon the Savannah and Saluda Rivers,? 
comprising all their lands in South Carolina to the eastward of the 
Unacaye Mountains. ; 
Two months later (July 20) Commissioners Preston, Christian, and 
Shelby, on the partof Virginia, and Avery, Sharpe, Winston, and Lanier, 
for North Carolina, also concluded a treaty with the Cherokees, by 
which, in the establishment of a boundary between the contracting 
parties, some parts of ‘**Brown’s line,” previously mentioned, were 
agreed upon as a portion of the boundary, and the Indians relinquished 
their lands as low down on Holston River as the mouth of Cloud’s 
Creek. To this treaty the Chicamauga band of Cherokees refused 
to give their assent.® 
The boundaries defined by this treaty are alluded to and described 
in an act of the North Carolina legislature passed in the following year, 
wherein it is stipulated that “no person shall enter or survey any lands 
within the Indian hunting grounds, or without the limits heretofore 
ceded by them, which limits westward are declared to be as follows: 
Begin at a point on the dividing line which hath been agreed upon be- 
tween the Cherokees and the colony of Virginia, where the line between 
that Commonwealth and this State (hereafter to be extended) shall in- 
tersect the same; running thence a right line to the mouth of Cloud’s 
Creek, being the second creek below the Warrior’s Ford, at the mouth 
of Carter’s Valley; thence a right line to the highest point of Chimney 
Top Mountain or High Rock ; thence a right line to the mouth of Camp 
or McNamee’s Creek, on south bank of Nolichucky, about ten miles 
below the mouth of Big Limestone; from the mouth of Camp Creek a 
southeast course to the top of Great Iron Mountain, being the same 
which divides the hunting grounds of the Overhill Cherokees from the 
hunting grounds of the middle settlements ; and from the top of Iron 
Mountain a south course to the dividing ridge between the waters of 
French Broad, and Nolichucky Rivers; thence a southwesterly course 
along the ridge to the great ridge of the Appalachian Mountains, which 
divide the eastern and western waters; thence with said dividing ridge 
to the line that divides the State of South Carolina from this State.” + 
Emigration of Chicamauga band.—The Cherokees being very much 
curtailed in their hunting grounds by the loss of the territory wrested 


‘Letter of Governor Blount to Secretary of War, January 14, 1793. See American 
State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 431. 

*American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 431, and Ramsey’s Tenn., p. 172. 

‘Hay wood’s Tennessee, p. 451. 

‘Scott’s Laws of Tennessee and North Carolina, Vol. I, p. 225. 


Rovee.| TREATY OF NOVEMBER 238, 1785. 151 


from them by the terms of these two treaties, began a movement fur- 
ther down the Tennessee River, and the most warlike and intractable 
portion of them, known as the Chicamaugas, settled and built towns on 
Chicamauga Creek, about one hundred miles below the mouth of the 
Holston River. Becoming persuaded, however, that this creek was 
infested with witches they abandoned it in 1782, and built lower down 
the Tennessee the towns usually called “The Five Lower Towns onthe 
Tennessee.” These towns were named respectively Running Water, 
Nickajack, Long Island Village, Crow Town, and Lookout Mountain 
Town. From thence marauding parties were wont to issue in their 
operations against the rapidly encroaching settlements. 

Although comparative peace and quiet for a time followed the heroic 
treatment administ ered tothe Indians by the expeditions of Williamson, 
Rutherford, Christian, and others, reciprocal outrages between the 
whites and Indians were of frequent occurrence. The situation was 
aggravated in 1783 by the action of the assembly of North Carolina in 
passing an act (without consulting the Indians or making any effort 
to secure their concurrence) extending the western boundary of that 
State to the Mississippi River, reserving, howeyer, fer the use of the 
Cherokees as a hunting ground a tract comprised between the point 
where the Tenn essee River first crosses.the southern boundary of the 
State and the head waters of Big Pigeon River.? 

Treaty and purchase of 1783.—On the 31st of May of this same year, 
by a treaty concluded at Augusta, Ga., the Cherokee delegates 
present (together with a few Creeks, who, on the 1st of November suc- 
ceeding, agreed to the cession) assumed to cede to that State the re- 
spective claims of those two nations to the country lying on the west 
side of the Tugaloo River, extending to and including the Upper Oconee 
River region.’ With the provisions of this treaty no large or represent- 
ative portion of either nation was satisfied, and in connection with the 
remarkable territorial assertions of the State of North Carolina, together 
with the constant encroachments of white settlers beyond the Indian 
boundary line, a spirit of restless discontent and fear was nourished 
among the Indians that resulted in many acts of ferocious hostility. 

Treaties with the State of Franklin.—In 1784, in consequence of the ces- 
sion by North Carolina to the United States of all her claims to lands 
west of the mountains (which cession was not, however, accepted by the 
United States within the two years prescribed by the act) the citizens 
within the limits of the present State of Tennessee elected delegates 
to a convention, which formed a State organization under the name of 
the State of Franklin and which maintained a somewhat precarious po- 





= = ae aeees : —_ = 

‘ Letter of Governor Blount to Secretary of War, January 14, 1793. See American 
State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 431, also page 263. 

* Report of Senate Committee March 1, 1797. See American State Papers, Indian 
Affairs, Vol. I, p. 623, Also Ramsey’s Annals of Tennessee, p. 276. 

* Carpenter and Arthur’s History of Georgia, p. 253. 


152 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


litical existence for about four years. During this interval the author- 
ities of the so-called State negotiated two treaties with the Cherokee Na- 
tion, the first one being entered into near the mouth of Dumplin Creek, on 
the north bank of French Broad River, May 31, 1785.! This treaty estab- 
lished the ridge dividing the waters of Little River from those of the Ten- 
nessee as the dividing line between the possessions of the whites and 
Indians, the latter ceding all claim to lands south of the French Broad 
and Holston, lying east of that ridge. The second treaty or conference 
was held at Chotee Ford and Coytoy, July 51 to August 3, 1786. The 
Franklin Commissioners at this conference modestly remarked, ‘* We 
only claim the island in Tennessee at the mouth of Holston and from 
the head of the island to the dividing ridge between the Holston River, 
Little River, and Tennessee to the Blue Ridge, and the lands North 
Carolina sold us on the north side of Tennessee.” They urged this 
claim under threat of extirpating the Cherokees as the penalty of re- 
fusal.? 
TREATY RELATIONS WITH THE UNITED STATES. 


This general history of the Cherokee Nation and the treaty relations 
that had existed with the colonial authorities from the period of their 
first official contact with each other is given as preliminary to the con- 
sideration of the history and provisions of the first treaty negotiated 
between commissioners on the part of the United States and the said 
Cherokee Nation, viz, the treaty concluded at Hopewell, on the Keowee 
River, November 28, 1785, an abstract of the provisions of which is 
hereinbefore given.® 

The conclusion of this treaty marked the beginning of a new era in 
the relations between the whites and Cherokees. The boundaries then 
fixed were the most favorable it was possible to obtain from the latter 
without regard to previous purchases and pretended purchases made 
by private individnals and others. Although the Indians yielded an 
extensive territory to the United States,‘ yet, on the other hand, the 
latter conceded to the Cherokees a considerable extent of territory that 
had already been purchased from them by private individuals or asso- 
ciations, though by methods of more than doubtful legality. 

The contentions between the border settlers of Virginia, North Caro- 
lina, South Carolina, and Georgia, as well as of the authorities of those 
States, with the Cherokees and Creeks, concerning boundaries and the 
constantly recurring mutual depredations and assaults upon each other’s 
lives and property, prompted Congress, though still deriving its powers 
from the Articles of Confederation, to the active exercise of its treaty- 
making functions. It was, therefore, determined® to appoint commis- 








‘ Ramsey’s Annals of Tennessee, p. 299. 
2Tb., p. 345. 

‘United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 18. 

+See Nos, 10a and 10b on accompanyivg map of Cherokee cessions. 
5 By resolution of Congress, March 15, 1785. 


ROYCE. | TREATY OF NOVEMBER 22, 1785. 153 


sioners who should be empowered under their instructions, subject, of 
course, to ratification by Congress, to negotiate a treaty with the Chero- 
kees, at which the boundaries of the lands claimed by them should be 
as accurately ascertained as might be, and the line of division carefully 
marked between them and the white settlements. This was deemed 
essential in order that authoritative proclamation might be made of 
the same, advising and warning settlers against further encroachments 
upon Indian territory. 


PROCEEDINGS AT TREATY OF HOPEWELL. 


The commissioners deputed for the performance of this duty were 
Benjamin Hawkins, Andrew Pickens, Joseph Martin, and Lachlan Me- 
Intosh. They convened the Indians in council at Hopewell, S. C., on 
the 18th of November, 1785.!_ Hopewell is on the Keowee River, 15 
miles above the junction of that river with the Tugaloo. The commis- 
sioners announced to the Indians the change of sovereignty from Great 
Britain to Congress that had taken place in the country as a conse- 
quence of the successful termination of the Revolution. They further 
set forth that Congress wanted none of the Indian lands, nor anything 
else belonging to them, but that if they had any grievances, to state 
them freely, and Congress would see justice done them. The Indian 
chiefs drafted a map showing the limits of country claimed by them, 
which included the greater portion of Kentucky and Tennessee, as well 
as portions of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Being re- 
minded by the commissioners that this claim covered the country pur- 
chased by Colonel Henderson, who was now dead, and whose purchase 
must therefore not be disputed, they consented to relinquish that por- 
tion of it. They also consented that the line as finally agreed upon, 
from the mouth of Duck River to the dividing ridge between the Cumber- 
land and Tennessee Rivers, should be continued up that ridge and from 
thence to the Cumberland in such a manner as to leave all the white 
settlers in the Cumberland country outside of the Indian limits. 

At the time, it was supposed this could be accomplished by running a 
northeast line from the ridge so as to strike the Cumberland forty miles 
above Nashville. This portion of the boundary, not having been affected 
by the treaty of 1791 (as was supposed by the Cherokees), was reiterated 
in that treaty in a reverse direction. But the language used—whether 
intentional or accidental—rendered it susceptible of a construction 
more favorable to the whites. This language read, ‘“‘ Thence down the 
Cumberland River to a point from which a southwest line will strike 
the ridge which divides the waters of Cumberland from those of Duck 
River, 40 miles above Nashville.” As this line was not actually sur- 
veyed and marked until the fall of 1797,? and as the settlements in that 


‘Report of Treaty Commissioners, dated Hopewell, December 2,1785. See Ameri- 
can State Papers, Indian, Affairs. Vol. I, p. 40. 

2 American Sta‘e Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 628, and letter of General Win- 
chester to General Robertson, November 9, 1797. 





154 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


locality had in the meantime materially advanced, it became necessary, 
in order to exclude the bulk of the settlers from the Indian country, to 
take advantage of this technicality. The line was consequently so run 
(from a point on said dividing ridge 40 miles above Nashville) that it 
struek the Cumberland River about 1 mile above the mouth of Rock 
Castle River, a distance of perhaps 175 to 200 miles above Nashville. 
This line was surveyed by General James Winchester, who, under date 
of November 9, 1797, in a letter to General Robertson, describes a por- 
tion of it as running as follows: 

From Walton’s read to the Fort Blount road, which it crosses near the two springs 
at the 32-mile tree; crosses Obey’s River about 6 or 7 miles from the mouth; Ach- 
mugh about 2 miles above the Salt Lick; the South Fork of Cumberland, or Flute 
River, 5 or 6 miles from the mouth, and struck Cumberland River about a mile above 
the mouth of Rock Castle. 

He also adds that the total length of the line (from the dividing ridge 
to Cumberland River above Rock Castle) is 138}; miles. 

The Fort Blount here mentioned was on the south side of Cumber- 
land River, about 6 miles in a direct line, southwest of Gainesboro’, and 
the road led from tinere to Walton’s road, which it joined at or near the 
present site of Cooksville.! Walton’s or Caney Fork road ied from 
Carthage in an easterly direction, and before the organization of Put- 
nam County formed the boundary line between Overton and White 
counties, from whence it continued easterly through Anderson’s Cross 
Roads and Montgomery to Wilson’s, in Knox County. The “Two 
Springs,” are about 2 or 3 miles northwest of Cooksville.! 

There is much difficulty in determining the absolute course of the 
‘* Winchester line,” from the meager description contained in his letter 
above quoted. Arrowsmith and Lewis, in their Atlas, published in 
1804, lay down the line as pursuing a perfectly straight course from its 
point of departure on the dividing ridge to its termination on the Cumn- 
berland above the mouth of Rock Castle River. ‘{Cheir authority for 
such a definition of the boundary is not given. If such was the true 
course of the line, the description given in General Winchester’s letter 
would need some explanation. He must have considered Obey’s River 
as emptying into Wolf River in order to bring his crossing of the 
former stream reasonably near the distance from its mouth specified by 
him. He must also have been mistaken in his estimate of the dis- 
tance at which the line crossed above the mouth of the South Fork of 
the Cumberland. The line of Arrowsmith and Lewis would cross that 
stream at least 12 miles in a direct line above its mouth, instead of five 
or six. It is ascertained from correspondence with the officers of the 
Historical Society of Tennessee, that the line, after crossing the Fort 
Blount road at the “Two Springs,” continued in a northeasterly direc- 
tion, crossing Roaring Fork near the mouth of a small creek, and, pur- 
suing the same course, passed to the east of the town of Livingston. 


' Letter of Hon. Jno. M. Lea, of Nashville, Tenn., to the author. 





ROYCE.) TREATY OF NOVEMBER 28, 1785. Mays: 


‘*“ Nettle Carrier,” a Cherokee Indian of some local note, lived on the 
headwaters of Nettle Carrier’s Creek, about four or five miles east of Liv- 
ingston, and the line passed about half-way between his cabin and the 
present site of that village.! Thence it continued to the crossing of 
Obey’s River, and thence to the point of intersection with the Kentucky 
boundary line, which is ascertained to have been at the northeast 
corner of Overton County, Tennessee, as originally organized in 1806. 
From this point the line continued to the crossing of Big South Fork, 
at the place indicated by General Winchester, and thence on to the 
Cumberland at the terminal point one mile above the mouth of Rock 
Castle River. In the interest of clearness a literal following of the line 
indicated in General Winchester’s letter, and also that given by Arrow: 
smith and Lewis, are shown upon the accompanying map. At the con- 
ference preliminary to the signing of the treaty of 1785, the Indians 
also asserted that within the fork of the French Broad and Holston 
Rivers were 3,000 white settlers who were therein defiance of their pro- 
tests. They maintained that they had never ceded that country, and 
it being a favorite spot with them the settlers must be removed. The 
commissioners vainly endeavored to secure a cession of the French 
Broad tract, remarking that the settlers were too numerous to make 
their removal possible, but could only succeed in securing the insertion 
of an article in the treaty, providing for the submission of the subject 
to Congress, the settlers, in the mean time, to remain unmolested.? 

Protest of North Carolina and Georgia.—During the pendency of 
negotiations, William Blount, of North Carolina, and John King and 
Thomas Glasscock, of Georgia, presented their commissions as the 
agents representing the interests of their respective States. They 
entered formal protests in the names of those States against the 
validity of the treaty, as containing several stipulations which infringed 
and violated the legislative rights thereof. The principal of these was 
the right, as assumed by the commissioners, of assigning to the Indians, 
territory which had already been appropriated, by act of the legislature 
in the case of North Carolina, to the discharge of bounty-land claims of 
the officers and soldiers of that State who had served in the Continental 
line during the Revolution.’ 

There were present at this treaty, according to the report of the com- 
missioners, 918 Cherokees, to whom, after the signature and execution 
thereof, were distributed as presents goods to the value of $1,31122. 
The meagerness of the supply was occasioned, as the commissioners 
explained, by their expectancy of only meeting the chiefs and head- 
men.* 


1 Letter of Geo. H. Morgan, of Gainesborough, Tennessee. 

*Report of Treaty Commissioners. See American State Papers, Indian Affairs, 
Vol. I, p. 38. 

3 American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 44. 

4Journal of Treaty Commissioners. See American State Papers, Indian Affairs, 
Wollleip. 43. 


156 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


Location of boundaries.—In the location of the boundary points be- 
tween the Cherokees and whites, recited in the fourth article of the 
treaty, it is proper to remark that — 

1. The route of the line along the ridge between Cumberland and 
Tennessee Rivers, and from thence to the Cumberland, at a point 40 
miles above Nashville, has already been recited. 

2. “The ford where the Kentucky road crosses the river” (Cumber- 
land) is at a point opposite the mouth of Left-Hand Fork, about 12 or 
13 miles slightly west of north of Cumberland Gap. From the point 
“40 miles above Nashville” to this ford, the commissioners adopted, 
as they declare, the line of Henderson’s Purchase; while from the “ Ken- 
tucky Ford” to the mountain, 6 miles south of the mouth of Camp 
Creek on Nolichucky, they followed the boundary prescribed by the 
treaty of July 20, 1777, with Virginia and North Carolina.! 

3. “Campbell’s line” was surveyed in 177778 by General William 
Campbell, as a commissioner for marking the boundary between Vir- 
ginia and the Cherokees. It extended from the mouth of Big Creek to 
the high knob on Poor Valley Ridge, 332 poles 8. 70° E. of the sum- 
mit of the main ridge of Cumberland Mountain, a short distance west 
of Cumberland Gap.2 The point at which the treaty line of 1785 struck 
Campbell’s line was at the Kentucky road crossing, about 14 miles south- 
east of Cumberland Gap. 

4, The treaty line followed Campbell’s line until it reached a point 
due north of the mouth of Cloud’s Creek. From this point it ran south 
to the mouth of that creek, which enters the Holston from the north, 3 
miles west of Rogersville. 

5. The line from Cloud’s Creek pursued a northeasterly direction to 
Chimney Top Mountain, which it struck at a point about 2 miles to 
the southward of the Long Island of Holston River. 

6. “Camp Creek, near the mouth of Big Limestone, on the Noli- 
chucky ” (which is the next point in the boundary line), is a south branch 
of Nolichucky River in Greene County, Tennessee, between Horse and 
Cove Creeks, and empties about 6 miles southeast of Greeneville. It 
was sometimes called McNamee’s Oreek. 

7. The mountain “six miles to the southward of Camp Creek” was 
in the Great Smoky or Iron Range, not far from the head of that creek. 

8. “Thence south to the North Carolina line, thence to the South 
Carolina Indian boundary.” This line was partially surveyed in the 
winter of 1791, by Joseph Hardin, under the direction of Governor 
Blount.’ It ran southeasterly from the mouth of McNamee’s or Camp 


' Report of Treaty Commissioners in American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, 
p. 38. 

*Letter of Return J. Meigs to Secretary of War, May 5, 1803; also, letter of Hon. 
John M. Lea, Nashville, Tennessee. 

‘Letter of Governor Blount to Secretary of War, December 16, 1792, in American 
State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 631. 


ROYCE. | TREATY OF NOVEMBER 28, 1785. ali 


Creek, a distance, as stated by Governor Blount, of 60 miles to Ruther- 
ford’s War Trace, although the point at which it struck this ‘ Trace,” 
which is given in Governor Blount’s correspondence as being 10 or 12 
miles west of the Swannanoa settlement, is only a trifle over 50 miles 
in a direct line from the mouth of Camp Creek. 

The ‘“ Rutherford’s War Trace” here spoken of was the route pur- 
sued by General Griffith Rutherford, who, in the summer of 1776, 
marched an army of 2,400 men against the Cherokees. He was re-en- 
forced by Colonels Martin and Armstrong at Cathey’s Fort; crossed 
the Blue Ridge at Swannane Gap; passed down and over the French 
Broad at a place yet known as the “War Ford;” continued up the 
valley of Hominy Creek, leaving Pisgah Mountain to the left and cross- 
ing Pigeon River a little below the mouth of East Fork; thence through 
the mountains to Richland Creek, above the present town of Waynes- 
ville; ascended that creek and crossed Tuckaseigee River at an Indian 
village; continued across Cowee Mountain, and thence to the Middle 
Cherokee Towns on Tennessee River, to meet General Williamson, 
from South Carolina, with an army bent on a like mission.! The 
boundary between western North Carolina and South Carolina was not 
definitely established at the date of the survey of Hardin’s line and, 
as shown by an old map on file in the Office of Indian Affairs, the point 
at which a prolongation of Hardin’s line would have struck the South 
Carolina Indian boundary was supposed to be on or near the 35th degree 
of north latitude,’ whereas it was actually more than 20 miles to the 
north of that parallel and about 10 miles to the north of the present 
boundary of South Carolina. The definite establishment of this treaty 
line of 1785 in this quarter, however, became unnecessary by reason of 
the ratification in February, 1792, of the Cherokee treaty concluded 
July 2, 1791,° wherein the Indian boundary line was withdrawn a con- 
siderable distance to the west. 

9. The line along the “South Carolina Indian boundary” ran in a 
southwesterly direction from the point of contact with the prolongation 
of Hardin’s line, passing over “Ocunna” Mountain a short distance to 
the northwestwardly of Ovonee Station and striking the Tugaloo River 
at a point about 1 mile above the mouth of Panther Creek.’ 

10. The line from Tugaloo River pursued a west of south course to 
Currahee Mountain, which is the southern terminus of a spur of the 
Alleghany Mountains, and is situated 4 miles southwest of ‘Toccoa 
Falls” and 16 miles northwest of Carnesville, Georgia. 

11. From ‘Currahee Mountain to the head of the south fork of 
Oconee River,” the line pursued a course south 38° west? to the source 
of that stream, now commonly known as the Appallachee River, and 





1 Ramsey’s Annals of Tennessee. 
“2Old manuscript map on file in Indian Office, Washington, D. C, 
3 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 39. 


158 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


was the terminal point of the boundary as defined in this treaty. 
This line was surveyed in 17981 under the direction of Col. Benj. 
Hawkins. 

It is also a pertinent fact in connection with the boundaries defined 
by this treaty (as already stated in connection with Henderson’s treaty), 
that although a literal reading of the description contained in Hender- 
son’s ‘Great Grant” of 1775 would include all the country watered by 
the tributaries of the Cumberland, the commissioners who negotiated 
this treaty of Hopewell in 1785 did not consider Henderson’s Purchase 
as extending south of the Cumberland River proper, except in its course 
from Powell’s Mountain to the head of the most southwardly branch of 
thatriver. This branch was considered by these commissioners of 1785 
as being the Yellow River, whose source was at best but imperfectly 
known. They specifically state that they accept the boundaries of Hen- 
derson’s Purchase in this direction,? and as the boundary defined by 
them between Powell’s Mountain and Yellow River was ‘ Campbell’s 
line,” they must have considered that line as being the southern limit 
of Henderson’s Great Grant. 


TREATY CONCLUDED JULY 2, 1791; PROCLAIMED FEBRUARY 7, 1792.* 


Held on bank of Holston River, near the mouth of French Broad, between 
William Blount, governor of the Territory south of Ohio River and 
superintendent of Indian affairs, representing the President of the 
United States, on the part and behalf of said States, and the chiefs 
and warriors of the Cherokee Nation on the part and behalf of said 
nation. 


MATERIAL PROVISIONS. 


1. Perpetual peace declared between the United States and the Chero- 
kee Nation. 

2. Cherokees to be under sole protection of the United States and to 
hold no treaty with any State or individuals. 

3. Cherokees and the United States to mutually release prisoners 
captured one from the other. 

4. Boundary between the United States and the Cherokees defined as 
follows: Beginning at the top of Currahee Mountain, where the Creek line 
passes if; thence a direct line to Tugelo River; thence northeast to 
Ocunna Mountain and over same along South Carolina Indian boundary 





‘See resolution of Georgia legislature, June 16,1802. It is however stated by 
Return J. Meigs, in a letter to the Secretary of War dated December 20, 1811, that 
this line was run by Colonel Hawkins in 1797. 

2? American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 38. 

*United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 39. 


et=h<f) 


ROYCE. } TREATY OF JULY 2, 1791. 159 


to the North Carolina boundary; thence north to a point from which a line 
is to be extended to the River Clinch that shall pass the Holston at the 
ridge dividing waters of Little River from those of Tennessee River; 
thence up Clinch River to Campbell’s line and along the same to the top 
of Cumberland Mountain; thence a direct line to Cumberland River 
where the Kentucky road crosses it; thence down Cumberland River 
to a point from which a southwest line will strike the ridge dividing 
waters of Cumberland from those of Duck River 40 miles above Nash- 
ville; thence down said ridge to a point from which a southwest line will 
strike the mouth of Duck River. 

To prevent future disputes, said boundary to be ascertained and 
marked by three persons appointed by the United States and three per- 
sons appointed by the Cherokees. 

To extinguish all claim of Cherokees to lands lying to the right of 
said line, the United States agree to immediately deliver certain valu- 
able goods to the Cherokees and to pay them $1,000 annually. 

5. Citizens of United States to have free use of road from Wash- 
ington District to Mero District and of navigation of Tennessee River. 

6. The United States to have exclusive right ef regulating trade with 
the Cherokees. 

7. The United States solemnly guarantee to the Cherokees all their 
lands not herein ceded. 

8. Citizens of the United States or others not Indians settling on 
Cherokee lands to forfeit protection of the United States and be pun- 
ished as the Indians see fit. 

9. Inhabitants of the United States forbidden to hunt on Cherokee 
lands, or to pass over the same without a passport from the governor of 
a State or Territory or other person authorized by the President of the 
United States to grant the same. 

10, Cherokees committing crimes against citizens of the United States 
to be delivered up and punished by United States laws. 

11. Inhabitants of the United States committing crimes or trespass 
against Cherokees to be tried and punished under United States laws. 

12. Retaliation or reprisal forbidden until satisfaction has been re- 
fused by the aggressor. 

13. Cherokees to give notice of any designs against the peace and in- 
terests of the United States. 

14. Cherokees to be furnished with useful implements of husbandry. 
United States to send four persons to reside in Cherokee country to act 
as interpreters. 

15. All animosities to cease and treaty to be faithfully carried out. 

16. Treaty to take effect when ratified by the President of the United 
States by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. 


160 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 
HISTORICAL DATA, 
CAUSES OF DISSATISFACTION WITH THE BOUNDARY OF 1785. 


The boundary line prescribed by the treaty of November 28, 1785, 
had been unsatisfactory to both the Cherokees and the whites. On 
the part of the former the chief cause of complaint was the non-remoyal 
of the settlers in the fork of the French Broad and Holston Rivers 
and their evident disposition to encroach still farther into the Indian 
country atevery opportunity. The whites, on the other hand, were dis- 
contented because further curtailment of the Cherokee territory had 
not been compelled by the commissioners who negotiated the treaty, 
and the State authorities of North Carolina and Georgia had protested 
because of the alleged interference by the General Government with 
the reserved rights of the States.!. In retaliation for the intrusions of 
the whites the Indians were continually engaged in pilfering their stock 
and other property. 

The state of affairs resulting from this continual friction rendered 
some decisive action by Congress necessary. <A large portion of the 
land in Greene and Hawkins Counties, Tennessee, had been entered by 
the settlers under the laws of North Carolina, whereby she had as- 
sumed jurisdiction to the Mississippi River.?- These lands were south 
and west of the treaty line of 1785, as were also the lands on the west 
side of the Clinch upon which settlements had been made. Settlers to 
the number of several thousand, south of the 'rench Broad and Hol- 
ston, were also within the Cheroxee limits.* 

It is true that the authorities of the so-called State of Franklin had 
in the years 1785 and 1786 negotiated two treaties with the Cherokees, 
obtaining cessions from the latter covering most, if not all, of these 
lands,* but neither the State of North Carolina nor the United States 
recognized these treaties as of any force or validity. 

These trespasses called forth under date of September 1, 1788, a 
proclaination from Congress forbidding all such unwarrantable intru- 
sions, and enjoining all those who had settled upon the hunting ground 
of the Cherokees to depart with their families and effects without loss 
of time. 

General Knox, Secretary of War, under date of July 7, 1789, in a 
communication to the President, remarked that “ the disgraceful viola- 
tion of the treaty of Hopewell with the Cherokees requires the 
serious consideration of Congress. If so direct and manifest con- 





‘American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 44. 

* Protest of Col. William Blount to Treaty Commissioners of 1785. American State 
Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 44, and Ramsey’s Annals of Teun., p. 549. Also 
Scott’s Laws of Tennessee and North Carolina, Vol. I. 

* American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 38. 

‘Ramsey’s Annals of Tennessee, p. 345. 


rover. | TREATY OF JULY 2, 1791. 161 


tempt of the authority of the United States be suffered with im- 
punity, it will be in vain to attempt to extend the arm of govern- 
ment to the frontiers. The Indian tribes can have no faith in such 
imbecile promises, and the lawless whites will ridicule a government 
which shall, on paper only, make Indian treaties and regulate Indian 
boundaries.” ! 

He recommended the appointment of three commissioners on the 
part of the United States, who should be invested with full powers to 
examine into the case of the Cherokees and to renew with them the 
treaty made at Hopewell in 1785; also to report to the President such 
measures as should be necessary to protect the Indians in the bound- 
aries secured to them by that treaty, which he suggested would involve 
the establishment of military posts within the Indian country and the 
Services of at least five hundred troops. President Washington, on 
the same day, transmitted the report of the Secretary of War, with the 
accompanying papers, to Congress. He approved of the recommenda- 
tions of General Knox, and urged upon that body prompt action in the 
matter. ; 

Congress, however, failed to take any decisive action at that session, 
and on the 11th of August, 1790, President Washington again brought 
the subject to the attention of that body. After reciting the substance 
of his previous communication, he added that, notwithstanding the 
treaty of Hopewell and the proclamation of Congress, upwards of five 
hundred families had settled upon the Cherokee lands, exclusive of 
those between the fork of the French Broad and Holston Rivers.2. He 
further added that, as the obstructions to a proper conduct of the mat- 
ter had been removed since his previous communication, by the acces- 
sion of North Carolina to the Union and the cession to the United States 
by her of the lands in question,* he should conceive himself bound to 
exert the powers intrusted to him by the Constitution in order to carry 
into faithful execution the treaty of Hopewell, unless it should be thought 
proper to attempt to arrange a new boundary with the Cherokees, 
embracing the settlements and compensating the Cherokees for the 
cessions they should make. 

United States Senate authorizes a new treaty.—Upon the reception of 
this message the Senate adopted a resolution advising and consenting 
that the President Should, at his discretion, cause the treaty of Hope- 
well to be carried into execution or enter into arrangements for sueh 





‘American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 53. 

* Th., p. 83. 

*The assembly of North Carolina proceeded in 1789 to mature a plan for the sey- 
erance of Tennessee, and passed an act for the purpose of ceding to the United 
States of America certain western lands therein described. In conformity with one 
of the provisions of the act, Samuel Johnson and Benjamin Hawkins, Senators in 
Congress from North Carolina, executed a deed to the United States on the 25th of 
February, 1790. Congress accepted the cession by act of April 2, 1790, and Tennessee 
ceased to be a part of North Carolina. 

5 ETH il 





162 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


further cession of territory from the Cherokees as the tranquillity and 
interests of the United States should require. A proviso to this reso- 
lution limited the compensation to be paid to the Cherokees for such 
further cession to $1,000 per annum and stipulated that no person who 
had taken possession of any lands within the limits of the proposed ces- 
sion should be confirmed therein until he had complied with such terms 
as Congress should thereafter prescribe. 

Accordingly, instructions were issued to William Blount, governor 
of the Territory south of the Ohio River and ex-officio superintendent 
of Indian affairs, to conclude ‘a treaty of cession with the Cherokees. 


TENNESSEE COMPANY’S PURCHASE. 


In the mean time the troubles between the Indians and the settlers 
had become aggravated from divers causes. Prominent among these 
was the fact that Georgia had by act of her legislature disposed of 
3,500,000 acres of vacant land lying south of Tennessee River to the 
Tennessee Company. This association undertook to effect a settlement 
in the year 1791 at or near the Muscle Shoals.? The matter coming to 
the notice of the Secretary of War was made the subject of a strong 
protest by him to the President.? 

The latter issued his proclamation forbidding such settlement. The 
company persisted in the attempt, and as the President had declared 
such act would place them without the protection of the United States, 
the Indians were left free to break up and destroy the settlement, which 
they did.‘ 


DIFFICULTIES IN NEGOTIATING NEW TREATY. 


In pursuance of Governor Blount’s instructions, he convened the 
Indians at White’s Fort, on the present site of Knoxville, Tenn. ; 
and after a conference lasting seven days, succeeded, with much diff- 
culty and with great reluctance on the part of the Cherokees, in con- 
cluding the treaty of July 2, 1791.° 

In his letter to the Secretary of War,° transmitting the treaty, he 
asserts the greatest difficulty to have been in agreeing on a boundary, 
and that the one fixed upon might seem singular, The reason for this 
peculiarity of description was owing to the fact that the Indians in- 


' These instructions were issued in pursuance of the advice and consent of the Sen- 
ate, under date of August 11, 1790. See American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. 
Ty psloos 

>This act of the Georgia legislature bore date of December 21, 1789. A prior act, 
bearing date February 7, 1785, had been passed, entitled ‘An act for laying out a dis- 
trict of land situated on the river Mississippi, within the limits of this State, into a 
county, to be called Bourbon.” See American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 
114. 

Ss January 22,1791. See American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 112. 

*tamsey’s Annals of Tennessee, pp. 549-556. 

° United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 39. 

6 July 15,1791. See American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 628. 


ROYCE. } TREATY OF JULY 2, 1791. 163 


sisted on beginning on the part where they were most tenacious of the 
land, in preference to the mouth of Duck River, where the Hopewell 
treaty line began. The land to the right of the line was declared to 
belong to the United States, because no given point of the compass 
would describe it. In accordance with his instructions, Governor Blount 
proposed to the Indians that the ridge dividing the waters of Little 
River from those of the Tennessee should form a part of the boundary. 
To this the Indians would not agree, but insisted on the Straight line 
which should cross the Holston where that ridge should strike it. Goy- 
ernor Blount explains that this line is not so limited by the treaty as to 
the point at which it shall leave the north line or at which it shall 
strike the Clineh,but that it might be so run as either to inelude or 
leave out the settlers south of the ridge; the only stipulations respect- 
ing it being that it should cross the Holston at the ridge, and should be 
run by commissioners appointed by the respective parties. 

He urged that the line should be run immediately after the ratifica- 
tion of the treaty, as settlers were already located in the immediate 
vicinity of it, and more were preparing to follow 

The President transmitted the treaty to the Senate with his mes- 
Sage of October 26, 179J,! and Senator Hawkins, from the committee 
to whom it was referred, reported it back to the Senate on the 9th of No- 
vember following, recommending that the Senate advise and consent to 
its ratification. 

On the 19th of the same month the Secretary of War advised Gov- 
ernor Blount that the treaty had been ratified by the President, by and 
with the advice and consent of the Senate, and inclosed him 50 printed 
copies for distribution, although the United States Statutes at Large 
[Vol. VII, p. 39] give the date of the proclamation of the treaty as Feb- 
ruary 7, 1792.8 


SURVEY OF NEW BOUNDARIES. 


The Secretary also intrusted the matter of the survey of the new 
boundary to the discretion of Governor Blount, and suggested the ap- 
pointment of Judge Campbell, Daniel Smith, and Col. Landon Carter as 
commissioners to superintend the same. This Suggestion was subse- 
quently modified by the appointment of Charles MeLung and John 
McKee in place of Smith and Carter. Governor Blount designated the 
Ist of May as the date for the survey to commence. Andrew Ellicott 
Was appointed surveyor, he having been previously appointed to survey 
the line under the Creek treaty of 1790.4 Before these arrangements 
could be carried out, the Secretary of War again wrote Governor 
Blount,’ remarking that while it was important the line should be run,, 





‘American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 123. 
SUD eps 135: 

3Ib., p. 629. 

4Ib., p. 628-630. 

* January 31,1792. See American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 629. 


164 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


yet as the United States, in their military operations, might want the 
assistance of the Cherokees, perhaps it would be better policy to 
haye the lines ascertained and marked after rather than before the 
campaign then about to commence against the Indians northwest of 
the Ohio.! It was thus determined, in view of numerous individual 
acts of hostility on the part of the Cherokees and of the desire to 
soothe them into peace and to engage them as auxiliaries against the 
northern Indians, to temporarily postpone the running of the line. 

After considerable correspondence between Governor Blount and the 
Cherokee chiefs in council, the 8th of October, 1792, was fixed upon as 
the date for the meeting of the representatives of both parties at Major 
Craig’s, on Nine-Mile Creek, for the purpose of beginning the survey.” 
In the mean time an increased spirit of hostility had become manifest 
among the Cherokees and Creeks, the five lower towns of the former 
having declared war, and an Indian invasion of the frontier seemed im- 
minent. Governor Blount, therefore, in the latter part of September,? 
deemed it wise to call fifteen companies of militia into immediate service, 
under the command of General Sevier, for the protection of the settle- 
ments. Notwithstanding this critical condition of affairs, the boundary 
line commissioners on the part of the United States assembled at the 
appointed time and place. After waiting until the following day, the 
representatives of the Cherokees putting in no appearance, they pro- 
ceeded to inspect the supposed route of the treaty line. After careful 
examination they came to the conclusion that the ridge dividing the 
waters of Tennessee and Little Rivers struck the Holston River at the 
mouth and at no other point.* 

They then proceeded to run, but did not mark, a line of experiment 
from the point of the ridge in a southeast direction to Chilhowee Moun- 
tain, a distance of 174 miles, and also from the point of beginning in a 
northwest direction to the Clinch River, a distance of 9 miles. From 
these observations they found that the line, continued to the southeast, 
would intersect the Tennessee River shortly after it crossed the Chil- 
howee Mountain, and in consequence would deprive the Indians of all 


‘Tt may not be uninteresting as a historical incident to note the fact that at the time 
of General Wayne’s treaty at Greeneville, in 1795, a band of Cherokees had settled 
on the head-waters ef the Scioto River in Ohio. Not presenting themselves at the 
conferences preceding that treaty, General Wayne sent them a special message throngh 
Captain Long Hair, one of their chiefs, with the information that if they failed to 
conclude articles of peace with him they would be left unprotected. They sent a dele- 
gation to assure General Wayne of their desire for peace, saying that as soon as they 
gathered their crop of corn they would return to their tribe, which they did. 

"American State Papers. Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 630. According to the original 
manuseript journal of Col. Benj. Hawkins, Major Craig’s house was } mile below the 
source of Nine-Mile Creek. 

’ September 27, 1792. See American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 630. 

*Report of Boundary Commissioners, November 30, 1792. American State Papers, 
Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 630. 


ROYCE] TREATY OF JULY 2, 1791. 165 


their towns lying on the south side of the Tennessee. This rendered 
apparent the necessity of changing the direction of the line into a more 
nearly east and west course, and led the commissioners to express the 
opinion that the true line should run from the point of the ridge south 
G0° east to Chilhowee Mountain and north 60° west to the Clineh. 

The course thus designated left a number of the settlers on Nine- 
Mile Creek within the Indian limits.’ 

The records of the War Department having been almost completely 
destroyed by fire in the month of November, 1800, it is with great dif- 
ficulty that definite data can be obtained concerning the survey of this 
and other Indian boundaries prior to that date. It has, however, been 
ascertained that the above mentioned line was not actually surveyed 
until the year 1797. 

Journal of Col. Benjamin Hawkins.—The manuscript journal of Col. 
Benjamin Hawkins, now in the possession of the Historical Society of 
Georgia, shows that instructions were issued by the Secretary of War 
on the 2d of February, 1797, appointing and directing Col. Benjamin 
Hawkins, General Andrew Pickens, and General James Winchester as 
commissionerson the partof the United States to establish and mark the 
lines between the latter and the Indian nations south of the Ohio. 
These instructions reached Colonel Hawkins at Fort Fidius, on the 
Oconee, on the 28th of February. Notice was at once sent to General 
Pickens at his residence at Hopewell, on the Keowee, and also to Gen- 
eral Winchester, through Silas Dinsmoor, at that time temporary agent 
for the Cherokee Nation, to convene at Tellico, on Tennessee River, on 
the Ist of April following, for the purpose of determining and marking 
the Cherokee boundary line pursuant to the treaty of 1791. Colonel 
Hawkins joined General Pickens at Hopewell, from which point they set 
out for Tellico on the 23d of March, accompanied by Joseph Whitner, 
one of their surveyors, as well as by an escort of United States troops, 
furnished by Lieut. Col. Henry Gaither. Passing Ocunna station, they 
were joined by their other surveyor, John Clark Kilpatrick. They 
reached Tellico block-house on the 31st of March, and were joined on 
the following day by Mr. Dinsmoor, the Cherokee agent. Here they 
were visited by Hon. David Campbell, who, in conjunction with Charles 
MeLung and John McKee, had been appointed in 1792, as previously 
set forth, to survey and mark the line. Mr. Campbell informed them 
that he and his co-commissioners, in pursuance of their instructions, did 
in part ascertain and establish the boundary and report the same to 
Governor Blount, and that he would accompany the present commis- 
sioners and give them all the information he possessed on the subject. 
About the same time confidential information was received that General 
Winchester would not attend the meeting of his co-commissioners, and 


that this was understood to be in pursuance of a scheme to postpone 


‘Report of Boundary Commissioners, November 30, 1792. American State Papers, 
Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 630. 


166 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


the running of the line in the interest of certain intruders upon Indian 
land. On the 7th of April the commissioners set out to examine the 
location and direction of the ridge dividing the waters of Little River 
from those of Tennessee, at the same time noting that ‘* we received in- 
formation that the line run between the Indians and white inhabitants 
by the commissioners, mentioned on the 3d instant by Mr. Campbell, 
was by order, for the express purpose of ascertaining a line of accom- 
modation for the white settlers, who were then gver the treaty line.” 
By arrangement they met a number of the interested settlers at the 
house of Mr. Bartlett McGee on the 9th, and by them were advised 
that the ridge between the sources of Nine-Mile, Baker’s, Pistol, and 
Crooked Creeks ‘is that which divides the waters running into Little 
River from those running into the Tennessee.” 

Proceeding with their cbservations, they set out for the point on this 
ridge ‘“ where the experiment line for fixing the court-house of Blount 
County passes the ridge between Pistol Creek and Baker’s Creek, due 
east from a point on the Tennessee 134 miles, and this point on the Ten- 
nessee is 14 miles south from a point from where a line west joins the con- 
fluence of the Holston and Tennessee.” The point on the ridge here 
spoken of was 24 miles north of Bartlett McGee's and 1 mile north of 
the source of Nine-Mile Creck. The commissioners state that in noting 
observations they count distances in minutes, at the rate of 60/ to 3 
miles. From the foregoing point they proceeded west 8’ to a ridge 
dividing Pistol and Baker’s Creeks; turned south 6’ to the top of a 
knoll, having on the right the falling grounds of Gallagher’s Creek. 
This knoll they called “ Iron Hill.” -Continuing south 11’, they crossed 
a small ridge and ascended a hill 4/ SSW., crossing a path from Baker’s 
Creek to the settlements on Holston. From here the ridge bore SSW. 
1 mile, SW. by W. 1 mile, SSW.3 miles, and thence NW., which would 
make it strike the Holston River near the mouth of that stream. This 
corresponded with the observations of the previous commissioners who 
had run the experimental line. ~ 

This inspection convinced the commissioners that a considerable 
number of the white settlers were on the Indian land. The latter were 
quite anxious that some arrangement should be made for their accommo- 
dation in the coming conference with the Indians, but received no 
encouragement from the commissioners further than an assurance that 
they should be permitted to gather their crops of small grain and fruit 
before removal. 

Being asked by the commissioners why the line run by Mr. Campbell 
and his confréres was known by three names, “ that of experience, of 
experiment, and the treaty line with the Indians,” they answered that 
“it was not the treaty line, but a line run to see how the citizens could 
be covered, as they were then settled on the frontier; that they under- 
stood this to be the direction to the commissioners, and that they con- 
formed to it and ran the line as we had noticed in viewing the lands 


ROYCE ] TREATY Of JULY 2, 1791. 167 


between the two rivers.” The settlers also said, “the law, as they were 
likely to be affected, had been inecautiously worded. They understood 
from it that the line from Clinch to cross the Holston at the ridge would 
turn thence south to the South Carolina Indian boundary on the North 
Carolina line. We replied that this understanding of it was erroneous. 
There was no such course in the treaty, and they should never suppose 
that the Government would be capable of violating a solemn guarantee ; 
that, although the expression was ‘ thence south,’ yet it must be under- 
stood as meaning southeastwardly, to the point next called for, as the 
point is in that direction and far to the east; that the lands in question 
had moreover been expressly reserved by the State of North Carolina 
for the Indians, and the occupants had not, as some others had, even the 
plea of entry in the land office of that State.” 

The law referred to above by the settlers and the commissioners was 
the act of Congress approved May 19, 1796, entitled ‘*An act to regu- 
late trade and intercourse with the Indian tribes and to preserve peace 
ov the frontiers.” This act recited the course of the Indiau boundary 
as established by treaty with the various tribes extending from the 
mouth of Cuyahoga River along the line described in the treaty of 1795 
at Greenville, to the Ohio River and down the same to the ridge divid- 
ing the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers; thence up and along said 
ridge and continuing according to the Cherokee treaty of 1791 to the 
river Clinch; “thence down said river to a point from which a line shall 
pass the Holston, af the ridge which divides the waters running into 
Little River from those running into the Tennessee; thence south to the 
North Carolina boundary,” ete. 

Owing to fears for their personal safety caused by the hostile tone 
of the settlers toward them, if was not until the 25th of April that a 
representative delegation of the Cherokees was convened in council by 
the commissioners. There were present 147 chiefs and warriors. 
Commissioners were appointed by them to act on behalf of their nation, 
in conjuction with those on behalf the United States, to run and mark 
the boundary line, and an agreement was reached that Messrs. Hawkins 
and Pickens should have authority to select the necessary sites for the 
proposed military posts within their country. 

During the council a delegation of the intruding settlers presented 
themselves but were not allowed to attend the deliberations, being 
advised by the commissioners ‘that it was not in contemplation to 
make a new treaty but to carry the treaty of Holston into effect; that 
we did not expect much light on this subject from the Indians; that 
we should form our decision from the instrument itself and not from 
interested reporters on either side; that all who were on the Indian 
lands could not be relieved by us; * * * that he (Captain Henly) 
and most of the deputation lived on this side of the line of experiment, 
and that they had informed us that that line was merely to ascertain 
how the citizens could be accommodated and on this side of the true line 


168 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


intended in the treaty; that to accommodate them a new treaty must 
be had and a new line agreed on, and, in our opinion, at this time it 
could not be effected ; that the Indians were much alarmed for their situ- 
ation, and viewed every attempt to acquire land as a violation of the 
solemn guaranty of the Government; that we need not expect ever to 
obtain fairly their consent to part with their land, unless our fellow-citi- 
zens would pay more respect than we saw they did to their treaties. 

Following this conference with the Indians, the commissioners pro- 
ceeded (examining the country carefully en route) to South West Point, 
at the mouth of Clinch River, which they reached on the 6th of May, and 
the journal of Colonel Hawkins concludes with this day’s proceedings. 
It is learned, however, from an old map of the line now on file in the office 
of Indian Affairs, that the survey was not begun until more than three 
months after their arrival at South West Point. From another map in 
the same office it appears that the line as surveyed extended from a 
point about 1,000 yards above South West Point in a course 8. 76° E. 
to the Great Iron Mountain, and was known as ‘* Hawkins Line.”! 
From this point the line continued in the same course until it reached 
the treaty line of 1785, and was called “ Pickens Line.” The supposi- 
tion is that as the Commissioners were provided with two surveyors, 
they separated, Colonel Hawkins with Mr. Whitner as surveyor running 
the line from Clinch River to the Great Iron Mountains, and General 
Pickens with Colonel Kilpatrick as surveyor locating the remainder 
of it. This supposition is verified so far as General Pickens is concerned 
by his own written statement.? 

From the point where it struck the Clinch River, the line of cession 
by this treaty of 1791 followed up the course of that river untilit struck 
Campbell’s line at a point 3 or 4 miles southwest of the present town of 
Sneedville. From this point it became identical with the boundary 
line prescribed by the treaty of November 28, 1785 at Hopewell, 

The tract of country ceded by this treaty comprised the territory 
within the present limits of Sevier, Cocke, Jefferson, Hamblen, Grainger, 
and almost the entirety of Knox, as well as portions of Roane, Loudon, 








1See preamble to treaty of 1798; American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, 
pp. 639-641; letters of Indian Bureau, War Department, December 13 and 14, 1828; 
also, old manuscript maps in Office of Indian Affairs, Nos. 716and 749, By the former 
of these maps it appears that the survey of “ Hawkins Line” from Clinch River was 
begun August 13, 1797, and that ‘‘the line commences on the Clinch, one-fourth mile 
above the ferry, in view of South West Point. (The ferry was 600 yards above the 
point.) From this point the view through the Vista or street passing Captain Wade’s 
garden to the right 8S, 26 W. the same side of the river above N. 47 W. The begin- 
ning tree, a Spanish oak, marked U.S. on the north side and C. on the south; on the 
oak 1797, A wahoo marked U.S. and C. under the U. 8. Aug. 13, continues the line 
4 cuts 7 strikes to the Cumberland road, here a white oak marked U.S.and C. The 
mile trees have U.S. and C. marked on them,” ete. 

* Letter of Gen. Andrew Pickens to Hon. Mr. Nott, of South Carolina, January 1, 
1800. See American State Papers, Public Lands, Vol. I, p. 104. 


‘cel 


ROYCE J TREATY OF FEBRUARY 17, 1792. 169 


Anderson, Union, Hancock, Hawkins, Sullivan, Washington, Greene, 
and Blount Counties in Tennessee, together with a portion of North 
Carolina lying principally west of the French Broad River. 


TREATY CONCLUDED FEBRUARY 17, 1792; PROCLAIMED FEBRUARY 
17, 1792. 


Held at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, between Henry Know, Secretary of 
War, on behalf of the United States, and certain chiefs and warriors, in 
behalf of themselves and the Cherokee Nation. 


MATERIAL PROVISIONS. 


This treaty was negotiated as, and declared to be, an additional arti- 
ele to the treaty of July 2, 1791, and provided as follows: 

1, That the annual sum to be paid to the Cherokees by the United 
States, in consideration of the relinquishment of lands, made in treaty 
of 1791, be $1,500 instead of $1,000. 


HISTORICAL DATA. 
DISCONTENT OF THE CIILEROKEES. 


As stated in considering the treaty of July 2, 1791, the Secretary of 
War notified Governor Blount! that the President had ratified the 
same, and inclosed printed copies thereof to him for distribution. 
This was equivalent to its official promulgation, although the treaty 
as printed in the United States Statutes at Large gives February 17, 
1792, as the date of proclamation. 

But, whichever may be the correct date, during the interval elapsing 
between them, a Cherokee delegation, without the invitation or knowl- 
edge of the United States authorities, proceeded to Philadelphia (then 
the seat of Government), where they arrived on the 28th of December, 
1791, bringing with them from Governor Pinckney and General Pick- 
ens, of South Carolina, evidence of the authenticity of their mission.’ 

The delegation consisted of six, besides the interpreter, and was 
headed by Nen-e-too-yah, or the Bloody Fellow. They were kindly 
received by the President, who directed the Secretary of War to ascer- 
tain their business. 

Conferences were thereupon held with them, lasting several days, at 
which the Indians detailed at great length their grievances and made 
known their wants. 

Causes of complaint.-—The substance of their communications was to 
the effect that when they were summoned by Governor Blount to the 
conference which resulted in the treaty of July 2, 1791, they were una- 








‘November 19, 1791. See American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 629. 
? American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 203. 


170 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


ware of any purpose on the part of the Government to secure any 
further cession of land from them; that they had protested vigorously 
and consistently for several days against yielding any more territory, 
but were met with such persistent and threatening demands from Govy- 
ernor Blount on the subject that they were forced to yield; that they had 
no confidence that the North Carolinians would attach any sacredness 
to the new boundary, in fact they were already settling beyond it; and 
that the annuity stipulated in the treaty of 1791, as compensation for 
the cession, was entirely inadequate. They therefore asked an increase 
of the annuity from $1,000 to $1,500, and furthermore demanded that 
the white people who had settled south of the ridge dividing the waters 
of Little River from those of the Tennessee should be removed, and that 
such ridge should be the barrier. 

President Washington, believing their demand to be a just one, and 
also desiring that the delegation should carry home a favorable report 
of the attitude and disposition of the Government toward them, sub- 
mitted the matter to the Senate! and requested the advice of that body 
as to the propriety of attaching an additional article to the treaty of 
1791 which should increase the annuity from $1,000 to $1,500. 

Annuity increased.—To this proposition the Senate gave its advice 
and consent,” and what is mentioned in the United States Statutes at 
Large as a treaty concluded and proclaimed February 17, 1792,° be- 
came the law of the land. 


WAR WITH CHEROKEES, 


This concession did not, however, in any large degree heal the differ- 
ences and antagonisms existing between the Indians and the border 
settlers, with whom they were brought in constant contact. Even while 
the treaty of 1792 was being negotiated by the representatives of the 
Cherokees at the capital of the nation, a portion of their young war- 
riors were consummating arrangements for the precipitation of a general 
war with the whites, and in September, 1792, a party of upwards of 700 
Cherokee and Creek warriors attacked Buchanan’s Station, Tenn., within 
4 miles of Nashville. They were headed by the Cherokee chief John 
Watts, who was one of the signers of the treaty of Holston, and had he 
not been severely wounded early in the attack, it is likely the station 
would have been destroyed. 

A year later, between twelve and fifteen hundred Indians of the same 
tribes invaded the settlements on the Holston River and destroyed 
Cavitt’s Station, 7 miles below Knoxville.’ In fact, the intermediate 
periods between 1791 and 1795 were filled up by the incursions of smaller 





1 January 18, 1792. 
2 January 20, 1792. 
‘United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 42. 
‘This attack was made about midnight on the 30th of September, 1792. See Amer- 
ican State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 294. 
5American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 463. 


ROYCE.) TREATY OF JUNE 26, 1794. fal 


war parties, and it was not until the latter year that the frontiers found 
any repose from Indian depredations. 

The general tranquillity enjoyed after that date seems to have been 
occasioned by the wholesome discipline administered to the tribes north- 
west of the Ohio by General Wayne, in his victory of August 20, 
1794, and as a result of the expedition of Major Ore, with his command 
of Teunesseeans and Kentuckians, in September of the same year, 
against the Lower Towns of the Cherokees, wherein two of those towns, 
Running Water and Nickajack, were destroyed.! 


TREATY CONCLUDED JUNE 26, 1794; PROCLAIMED JANUARY 21, 1795.2 


Held at Philadelphia, Pa., between Henry Knox, Secretary of War, on 
behalf of the United States, and the chiefs and warriors representing 
the Cherokee Nation of Indians. 


MATERIAL PROVISIONS. 


The treaty of July 2, 1791, not having been fuily carried into effect, 
by reason of some misunderstanding, this treaty was concluded to adju- 
dicate such differences, and contains the following provisions: 

1. The treaty of July 2, 1791, declared to be in full force in respect to 
the boundaries, as well as in all other respects whatever. 

2. The boundaries mentioned in the 4th article of treaty of July 2, 1791, 
to be ascertained and marked after ninety days’ notice shall have been 
given to the Cherokee Nation of the time and place of commencing the 
operation by the United States commissioners. 

3. The United States agree, in lieu of all former sums, to furnish 
the Cherokees with $5,000 worth of goods annually, as compensation for 
all territory ceded by treaties of November 28, 1785, and July 2, 1791. 

4. Fifty dollars to be deducted from Cherokee annuity for every horse 
stolen by Cherokees from whites and not returned within three months. 

5. These articles to be considered as additions to treaty of July 2, 
1791, as soon as ratified by the President and Senate of the United 
States. 

HISTORICAL DATA. 


COMPLAINTS CONCERNING BOUNDARIES. 


The destruction of the official records renders it very difficult to ascer- 
tain the details of the misunderstandings alleged in the preamble of this 





! Report of Maj. James Ore to Governor Blount, September 24,1794. He left Nash- 
ville September 7, with 550 mounted infantry, crossed the Tennessee on the 12th, 
about 4 miles below Nickajack, and on the morning of the 13th destroyed Nickajack 
and Running Water towns, killing upwards of 50 and making a number prisoners. 
See American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 632. 


United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 43. 


172 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


treaty ef June 26, 1794,' to have arisen concerning the provisions of the 
treaty of 1791. But it is gathered from various sources that the prin- 
cipal cause of complaint was in reference to boundaries. 

At the treaty of 1791, Governor Blount, as he alleges, sought, by every 
means in his power, to have the boundary of the cession follow, so far as 
might be, the natural barrier formed by the dividing ridge between the 
waters of Little River and those of the Tennessee,’ and such in fact was 
the tenor of his instructions from the Secretary of War; but the Indian 
chiefs unanimously insisted that the boundary should be a straight line, 
running from the point where the ridge in question should strike the 
Holston, and assumed as evidence of the crookedness of Governor 
Blount’s heart the fact that he desired to run a crooked line.* 

After that treaty was concluded, however, it became evident that 
there would be difficulty in determining satisfactorily where the ridge 
came in contact with the Holston, inasmuch as the white settlers in the 
vicinity could not agree upon it. The Indians also changed their minds 
in some respect as to the proper course of the line; but, in view of the 
fact that settlers were encroaching with great persistency upon their 
territory, they saw the necessity of taking immediate steps to have the 
boundary officially surveyed and marked. They also revived an old 
claim to pay for lands yielded by them in the establishment of the 
treaty line of 1785, for which they had received no compensation. 

Increase of annuity.—In the conference preceding the signature of 
this treaty of 1794 they insisted that for this and other reasons an in- 
crease should be made in the annuity provided by the treaty of 1791, 
as amended by that of 1792. This was agreed to by the United States, 
and the annuity was increased from $1,500 to $5,000. 

Boundary line to be surveyed.—It was also agreed that the treaty line 
of 1791 should be promptly surveyed and marked after ninety days’ no- 
tice had been given to the Cherokees of the time when and the place 
where the survey should begin. 

This, as has already been stated in connection with the treaty of 1791, 
had been so far performed in the fall of 1792 as to run but not mark a 
preliminary line for a short portion of the distance, but in spite of the 
additional agreement in this treaty of 1794 the actual and final survey 
did not take place until 1797,‘ three years after the conclusion of this 
treaty and more than seven years after it was originally promised to be 
done. 

The treaty of 1794 was concluded by the Secretary of Wat hinself 
with a delegation of the Cherokees who had visited Philadelphia for 


‘United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 43. 

“American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 629. 

‘Letter of Governor Blount to Secretary of War, March 2, 1792. See American 
State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 629. 

‘+American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 628. 


i 


over.) TREATY OF JUNE 26, 1794. 173 


that purpose. It was communicated by President Washington to the 
Senate on the 30th of December, 1794.! 


CHEROKEE WOSTILITIES. 


While this treaty was being negotiated, and for some months there- 
after, a portion of the Cherokees were engaged in the bitterest hostili- 
ties against the white settlements, which were only brought to a close, 
as has been incidentally remarked in discussing the treaty of 1792, by 
the expedition of Major Ore against the Lower Cherokee towns in Sep- 
tember, 1794. 

Peace conference—Following this expedition the hostile Cherokees 
sued for peace, and at their request a conference was held with them 
by Governor Blount, at Tellico Block House, on the 7th and 8th of 
November of that year.” 

This council was attended by Col. John Watts, of Willstown, princi- 
pal leader of the hostiles; Scolacutta, or the Hanging Maw, head chief 
of the nation, and four hundred other chiefs and warriors. A general 
disposition seemed to be manifested among them to abandon their habits 
of depredation and secure for themselves and their families that peace 
to which they, as well as their white neighbors, lad long been strangers. 
Governor Blount met them in a friendly spirit and sought, by every 
means in his power, to confirm them in their good disposition. 

In reporting the facts of this conference to the Secretary of War he 
asserted one of the most fruitful causes of friction between the whites 
and Indians to be the stealing and selling of horses by the latter, for 
which they could always find a ready and unquestioned market among 
unscrupulous whites. As measures of frontier protection he suggested 
the continuance of the three military garrisons of Southwest Point at 
the mouth of the Clinch, of Fort Granger at the mouth of the Holston, 
and of Tellico Block House, opposite the remains of old Fort Loudon, 
and also the erection of a military post, if the Cherokees would permit 
it, on the north bank of the Tennessee, nearly opposite the mouth of 
Lookout Mountain Creek. Subsequently? he held a further conference 
with the Cherokees and endeavored to foster hostilities between them 
and the Creeks by urging the organization of a company of their young 
warriors to patrol the frontiers of Mero District for its protection 
against incursions of the Creeks. To this the leading Cherokee chiefs 
refused assent, not because of any objection to the proposition, but be- 
cause they desired time for preparation. 


INTERCOURSE ACT OF 1796, 


Early in the following year* President Washington, in an emphatie 
message, laid before Congress 1 communication from Governor Blount 





‘American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 543. 
*American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 536. 
* January 3,1795. See American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 536. 
*Pebruary 2,1796. See American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. 1, p. 581. 





174 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


setting forth the determination of a large combination of persons to 
take possession of certain Indian lands south and southwest of the 
Cumberland, under the pretended authority of certain acts of the legis- 
lature of North Carolina, passed some years previous, for the relief of 
her officers and soldiers of the Continental line. 

In view of the injustice of such intrusions and the mischievous con- 
sequences which would of necessity result therefrom, the President 
recommended that effective provision should be made to prevent them. 

This eventuated in the passage of the act of Congress, approved May 
19, 1796,! providing for the government of intercourse between citizens 
of the United States and the various Indian tribes. 


TREATY CONCLUDED OCTOBER 2, 1798.2 


Held near Tellico, in the Cherokee Council House between George Walton and 
Lieut. Col. Thomas Butler, commissioners on behalf of the United States, 
and the chiefs and warriors of the Cherokee Nation. 


MATERIAL PROVISIONS. 


Owing to misunderstandings and consequent delay in running the 
boundary line prescribed by the treaties of 1791 and 1794, and the 
ignorant encroachment of settlers on the Indian lands within the limits 
of such boundaries before their survey, it became desirable that the In- 
dians should cede more land. The following treaty was therefore con- 
cluded: 

1. Peace and friendship are renewed and declared perpetual. 

2. Previous treaties acknowledged to be of binding force. 

3. Boundaries of the Cherokees to remain the same where not altered 
by this treaty. 

4, The Cherokees cede to the United States all lands within the fol- 
lowing points and lines, viz: From a point on the Tennessee River, 
below Tellico Block House, called the Wild Cat Rock, in a direct line to 
the Militia Spring near the Maryville road leading from Tellico. From 
the said spring to the Chill-howie Mountain by a line so to be run as will 
leave all the farms on Nine Mile Creek to the northward and eastward 
of it, and tobe continued along Chill-howie Mountain until it strikes 
Hawkins’s line. Thence along said line to the Great Iron Mountain, and 
from the top of which a line to be continued in a southeastwardly course 
to where the most southwardly branch of Little River crosses the divis- 
ional line to Tuggaloe River. From the place of beginning, the Wild 
Cat Rock, down the northeast margin of the Tennessee River (not in- 
cluding islands) to a point one mile above the junction of that river with 





1 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. I, p. 496. 
2United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 62. 


ROYCE.] TREATY OF OCTOBER 2, 1798. Let 


the Clinch, and from thence by a line to be drawn ina right angle until 
it intersects Hawkins’s line leading from Clinch. Thence down the 
said line to the river Clinch; thence up the said river to its junction 
with Emmery’s River; thence up Emmery’s River to the foot of Cum- 
berland Mountain. From thence a line to be drawn northeastwardly 
along the fvot of the mountain until it intersects with Campbell’s line. 

5. Two commissioners to be appointed (one by the United States and 
one by the Cherokees) to superintend the running and marking of the 
line, immediately upon signing of the treaty, and three maps to be 
made after survey for use of the War Department, the State of Tennes- 
see, and the Cherokee Nation respectively. 

6. Upon signing the treaty the Cherokees to receive $5,000 cash and 
an annuity of $1,000, and the United States to guarantee them the re- 
mainder of their country forever. 

7. The United States to have free use of the Kentucky road running 
between Cumberland Mountain and river, in consideration of which the 
Cherokees are permitted to hunt on ceded lands. 

8. Notice to be given the Cherokees of the time for delivering annual 
stipends. 

9. Horses stolen by either whites or Indians to be paid for at $60 
each (if by a white man, in cash; if by an Indian, to be deducted from 
annuity). All depredations prior to the beginning of these negotiations 
to be forgotten. 

10. The Cherokees agree that the United States agent shall have 
sufficient ground for his temporary use while residing among them. 
This treaty to be binding and carried into effect by both sides when 
ratified by the Senate and President of the United States. 


HISTORICAL DATA. 
DISPUTES RESPECTING TERRITORY. 


In the year 1797 the legislature of the State of Tennessee addressed 
a memorial and remonstrance to Congress upon the subject of the In- 
dian title to lands within that State. The burden of this complaint 
was the assertion that the Indian title was at best nothing greater than 
a tenancy at will; that the lands they occupied within the limits of the 
State had been granted by the State of North Carolina, before the ad- 
mission of Tennessee to the Union, to her officers and soldiers of the 
Continental line, and for other purposes ; that the treaties entered into 
with the Cherokees by the United States, guaranteeing them the ex- 
clusive possession of these lands, were subversive of State as well as 
individual vested rights, and praying that provision be made by law 
for the extinguishment of the Indian claim.! 

This was communicated to Congress by the President. Mr. Pinckney, 





1This address and remonstrance will be found in full in American State Papers, 
Indian Affairs, Vol. I, page 625. 


176 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


from the committee of the House of Representatives to which the 
matter was referred, submitted a report,! accompanied by a resolution 
making an appropriation for the relief of such citizens of the State of 
Tennessee as had aright to lands within that State, by virtue of the 
cession out of the State of North Carolina, provided they had made 
actual settlement thereon and had been deprived of the possession 
thereof by the operation of the act of May 19, 1796, for regulating in- 
tercourse with the Indian tribes. The sum to be appropriated, it was 
declared, should be subject to the order of the President of the United 
States, to be expended under his direction, either in extinguishing the 
Indian claim to the lands in question, by holding a treaty for that pur- 
pose, or to be disposed of in such other manner as he should deem best 
calculated to afford the persons described a temporary relief. 

New treaty.—The House of Representatives, on considering the sub- 
ject, passed a resolution directing the Secretary of War tolay beforethem 
such information as he possessed relative to the running of a line of ex- 
periment from Clinch River to Chilhowie Mountain by order of Governor 
Blount, to which the Secretary responded on the 5th of January, 1798. 

Following this, on the 8th of the same month, President Adams com- 
municated a message to the Senate, setting forth that the situation of 
affairs between some of the citizens of the United States and the Chero- 
kees had evinced the propriety of holding a treaty with that nation, 
to extinguish by purchase their right to certain parcels of land and to 
adjust and settle other points relative to the safety and convenience of 
the citizens of the United States. With this view he nominated Fisher 
Ames, of Massachusetts, Bushrod Washington, of Virginia, and Alfred 
Moore, of North Carolina, to be commissioners, having authority to hold 
conferences and conclude a treaty with the Cherokees for the purpeses 
indicated.? 

The Senate concurred in the advisability of the proposed treaty, but 
Fisher Ames and Bushrod Washington having declined, George Walton 
aud John Steele were associated with Mr. Moore, and detailed instrue- 
tions were given for their guidance. 

By these instructions they were vested jointly and severally with full 
powers to negotiate and conclude a treaty with the Cherokees, limited 
only by the scope of the instructions themselves. The Cherokee agent 
had already been directed to notify the Indians and the commandant 
of United States troops in Tennessee to furnish an escort sufficient for 
the protection of the negotiations. 

Further purchase of Cherokee lands proposed.—The commissioners were 
directed as a primary consideration to secure, if possible, the consent 

December 20, 1797. 

’ American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 629. 

* American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 631. 

4These instructions were dated March 2, 1793. See American State Papers, Indian 
Affairs, Vol. I, p. 639 


Royce] TREATY OF OCTOBER 2, 1793. TEE 


of the Cherokees to the sale of such part of their lands as would give a 
more convenient form to the State of Tennessee and conduce to the 
protection of its citizens. Especially was it desirable to obtain their 
consent to the immediate return of such settlers as had intruded on 
their lands and in consequence had been removed by the United States 
troops, such consent to be predicated on the theory that the Cherokees 
were willing to treat for the sale to the United States of the lands upon 
which these people had settled. They were directed to renew the un- 
successful effort made by Governor Blount in 1791 to secure the consent 
of the Cherokees that the boundary should begin at the mouth of Duck 
River and run up the middle of that stream to its source and thence 
by a line drawn to the mouth of Clinch River. The following alter- 
native boundary propositions were directed to be submitted for the con- 
sideration of the Indians, in their numerical order, viz: 

J. A line (represented on an accompanying map by a red dotted line) 
from a point on the ridge dividing the waters of the Cumberland from the 
Tennessee River, in a southwest direction, until it should strike the mouth 
of Duck River; thence from the mouth to the main source of the river; 
thence by a line over the highest ridges of the Cumberland Mountains 
to the mouth of Clinch River; thence down the middle of the Tennessee 
River till it struck the divisional line under the treaties of 1791 and 
1794; thence along said line to its crossing of the Cunchee Creek run- 
ning into Tuckasegee; thence to the Great Iron Mountains; thence 
a southeasterly course to where the most southerly branch of Little 
River crossed the divisional line to Tugaloo River. 

2. A line (represented on said map by a double red line) beginning at 
the point 40 miles above Nashville, as ascertained by the commissioners 
(and laid down on said map); thence due east till it struck the dotted 
line on Cumberland Mountains; along said mountains to the junction 
of Clinch and Tennessee Rivers; and down the Tennessee to the extent 
of the boundary described in the first proposition. 

3, A line (dotted blue) beginning at a point 56 miles from the point 
40 miles above Nashville, on the northeast divisional line, being 15 miles 
south of the road called Walton’s or Caney Fork road; thence on a 
course at the same distance from the said road to where it crosses Clinch 
River; thence resuming the remaining boundary as described in the 
first proposition. 

4, A line (being a double blue line on the map) beginning at a point 
one mile south of the junction of the Clinch and Tennessee Livers ; 
thence westerly along the course of the road 14 miles south thereof 
until it entered into Cumberland Mountains; thence a northeasterly 
course along the ridges of said mountains on the west of Powell’s Val- 
ley and River to the source of the river next above Clear Fork, and 
thence down the middle of the same to the northeast divisional line; 
the Tennessee River and the further line thence, as described in the 
first proposition, to be the remaining boundary. 

3 BYH——12 


178 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


Tn case the Indians should accept the first proposition and cede the 
tract therein described, or a greater quantity, the commissioners were 
to solemnly guarantee the Cherokees the remainder of their country 
and agree to their payment by the United States of either an annuity 
of $4,000, or to deliver them, on the signing of the treaty, goods to the 
amount of $5,000 and the further sum of $20,000 in four equal annual 
installments. 

Refusing the first and accepting the second proposition, they were to 
receive the same guarantee, and an annuity of $3,000, or $5,000 at once 
in goods and $15,000 in three equal annual installments. 

Refusing the first and second and accepting the third proposition, 
the same guarantee was offered and an annuity of $2,000, or $5,000 in 
goods on signing the treaty and $10,000 in two equal annual install- 
ments. 

Accepting the fourth proposition, to the exclusion of the other three, 
the same guarantee was to be given, together with an annuity of $1,000, 
or $5,000 in goods on signing the treaty and the same amount during 
the year 1799. 

It was also represented by the Secretary of War that the arts and 
practices used to obtain Indian land in defiance of treaties and the 
laws, at the risk of involving the whole country in war, had become 
so daring, and received such countenance from persons of prominent 
influence, as to render it necessary that the means to countervail them 
should be augmented. To this end, as well as to more effectually secure 
to the United States the advantages of the land which should be ob- 
tained by the treaty, the commissioners were instructed to secure the 
insertion into the treaty of provisions of the following import: 

1. That the new line should be run and marked by two commissioners, 
one of whom should be appointed by the treaty commissioners and the 
other by the Indians. They should proceed immediately upon the sign- 
ing of the treaty to the execution of that duty, upon the completion 
of which three maps thereof should be prepared, one for the use of the 
Secretary of War, one for the executive of the State of Tennessee, and 
one for the Cherokees. 

2. That the Cherokees should at all times permit the President of 
the United States to employ military force within their boundaries for 
the arrest and removal of all persons seeking to make unauthorized 
negotiations with or to incite their hostility toward the United States 
or any of its citizens, or toward any foreign nation or Indian nation or 
tribe within the limits and under the protection of the United States; 
also, of all persons who should settle on or who should attempt to re- 
side in the Indian country without the written permission of the Presi- 
dent. 

3. That the treaty should not be construed either to affect the right 
or title of any ejected settler upon the Indian lands to the tract there- 
tofore occupied by him or in any manner to enlarge his right or claim 


ROYCE. TREATY OF OCTOBER 2, 1798. 179 


thereto; and that all Indian land purchased by the contemplated treaty, 
which had not been actually occupied as aforesaid, should remain sub- 
ject to the operation of all the provisions of the proposed as well as any 
former treaty and of the laws of the United States relative to Indian 
country, until such time as said lands should be sold by and under the 
authority of the United States. This provision was intended to prevent 
any further intrusion on any part of the land ceded by the State of North 
Carolina to the United States; as also upon the land set apart to the 
Cherokee Indians by the State of North Carolina, by act of her legisla- 
ture, passed May 17, 1783, described as follows, viz: “Beginning on the 
Tennessee, where the southern boundary of this State intersects the 
same, nearest to the Chicamauga towns; thence up the middle of the 
Tennessee and Holston to the middle of French Broad; thence up the 
middle of French Broad River (which lines are not to include any island 
or islands in the said river) to the mouth of Big Pigeon River; thence 
up the same to the head thereof; thence along the dividing ridge, be- 
tween the waters of Pigeon River and Tuckasege River, to the southern 
boundary of this State.” 

4. The United States should have the right to establish such military 
posts and garrisons within the Indian limits for their protection as 
should be deemed proper. In case it should be found impracticable to 
obtain Duck River or a line that should include within it the road lead- 
ing from Southwest Point to Cumberland River for a boundary, the 
commissioners were to stipulate for certain parcels of land lying on 
such road at convenient distances from each other for the establishment 
of houses of entertainment for travelers. Also in case the cession ob- 
tained should not include both sides of the ferry on Clinch River, to 
secure a limitation upon the rates of toll that should be charged by the 
occupant. 

The commissioners repaired to Knoxville, where they ascertained it 
to be the desire of the Indians that the treaty negotiations should be 
held at Oostenaula, the Cherokee capital. 

To this the commissioners objected, but agreed to meet the Indians 
at Chota, which they concluded to change to Tuckasege, and, finally, 
before the date fixed for the meeting, June 25, again changed it to Tel- 
lico, where the conference was held.! 

Tennessee commissioners attend the council_—In the mean time? Gov- 
ernor Sevier of Tennessee designated General Robertson, James Stuart, 
and Lachlan McIntosh as agents to represent the interests of that 
State at the treaty, and gave them minute instructions covering the 
following points,’ viz: 

1. To obtain as wide an extinguishment of the Cherokee claim north 
of the Tennessee River as possible. 





'Ramsey’s Annals of Tennessee, pp. 693, 695. 
2 June 20, 1798. 
5 Ramsey’s Annals of Tennessee, pp. 693, 695. 


180 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS 


2, An unimpeded communication of Holston and Clinch Rivers with 
the Tennessee and the surrender of the west bank of the Clinch oppo- 
site South-West Point. 

3. To secure from future molestation the settlements as far as they 
had progressed on the northern and western borders of the State and 
the connection of Hamilton and Mero districts, then separated by a 
space of unextinguished hunting ground 80 miles wide. 

4, To examine into the nature and validity of the claim recently set 
up by the Cherokees to lands north of the Tennessee River; whether 
it rested upon original right or was derived from treaties: or was 
founded only upon temporary use or occupancy. 

The council opened early in July. The “ Bloody Fellow,” a Cherokee 
chief, at the outset delivered a paper which he stated to contain their 
final resolutions, and which covered a peremptory refusal to sell any 
land or to permit the ejected settlers to return to their homes. After 
seeking in vain to shake this determination of the Cherokees, further 
negotiations were postponed until the ensuing fall, and the commission- 
ers departed. 

On the 27th of August, the Secretary of War addressed some addi- 
tional instructions upon the subject to George Walton and Lieut. Col. 
Thomas Butler as commissioners (John Steele haying resigned and 
Alfred Moore having returned to his home in North Carolina), author- 
izing them to renew the negotiations. The original instructions were 
to form the basis of these negotiations, but if it should be found im- 
practicable to induce the Indians to accede to either of the first three 
propositions, an abandonment of them was to take place, and resort 
was to be had to the fourth proposition, which might be altered in any 
manner as to boundaries calculated to secure the most advantageous 
results to the United States.!. The council was resumed at Tellico on 
the 20th of September, but it was found, during the progress thereof, 
that there was no possibility of effecting the primary objects of the State 
agents of Tennessee. General Robertson failed to attend. General 
White (who had been appointed in the place of Stuart) was there, but 
Mr. MeIntosh resigned and Governor Sevier himself attended in person. 

The treaty was finally concluded on the 2d of October, by which a 
cession was secured covering most of the territory contemplated by the 
fourth proposition, with something additional. 1t included most if not 
all the Iands from which settlers had been ejected by the United States 
troops, and they were permitted to return to their homes. 

-The road privilege sought to be obtained between East and Middle 
Tennessee was also realized, except as to the establishment of houses 
of entertainment for travelers.” 





1 American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 640. 

2By act of September 27, 1794, the legislature of the territory southwest of the 
Ohio authorized the raising of a fund for cutting and clearing a wagon road from 
Southwest Point to Bledsoe’s Lick on the Cumberland. The funds for this pur- 


ROYCE. } TREATY OF OCTOBER 2, 1792. 181 


President Adams transmitted the treaty to the Senate,! and that 
body advised and consented to its ratification. 

Boundary lines surveyed.—In fulfillment of the provisions ef the fifth 
article of the treaty concerning the survey of boundary lines, the Presi- 
dent appointed Captain Butler as a commissioner to run that portion of 
the line described as extending from Great Iron Mountain in a south- 
easterly direction to the point where the most southerly branch of Lit- 
tle River crossed the divisional line to Tugaloo River, which trust he 
executed in the summer of 1799.2 Owing to the unfortunate destrue- 
tion of official records by fire, in the year 1800, it is impossible to ascer- 
tain all the details concerning this survey, but it was executed on the 
theory that the “Little River” named in the treaty was one of the 
northernmost branches of Keowee River. 

This survey seems not to have been accepted by the War Depart- 
ment, for on the 3d of June, 1802, instructions were issued by the Sec- 
retary of War to Return J. Meigs, as a commissioner, to superintend 
the execution of the survey of this same portion of the boundary. Mr. 
Thomas Freeman was appointed surveyor.® 

From the letter of Commissioner Meigs, transmitting the plat and 
field notes of survey,‘ it appears that much difference of opinion had 
existed as to what stream was meant by the “ Little River” named in 
the treaty, there being three streams of that name in that vicinity. 
Two of these were branches of the French Broad and the other of 
Keowee River. If the line should be run to the lower one of these two 
branches of the French Broad, it would leave more than one hundred 
families of white settlers within the Indian territory. If it were run 
to the branch of Keowee River, it would leave ten or twelve Indian 
villages within the State of North Carolina. 

It was therefore determined by Commissioner Meigs to accept the 
upper branch of French Broad as the true intent and meaning of the 
treaty, and the line was run accordingly, whereby not a single white 
settlement was cut off or intersected, and but five Indian families were 
left on the Carolina side of the line.° 





pose were to be raised by a lottery managed by Cols. James White, James Winches- 
ter, Stockley Donelson, David Campbell, William Cocke, and Robert Hayes. The In- 
dians not haying granted the necessary right of way, its construction was necessarily” 
postponed, but subsequently, by act of the legislature of Tennessee passed November 
14, 1801, the Cumberland Road Company was incorporated and required to cut and 
clear a road from the Indian boundary on the east side of Cumberland Mountain to 
the fork of the roads leading to Fort Blount and Walton’s Ferry. 

! January 15, 1799. 7 

2See letter of General Pickens to Representative Nott, of South Carolina, Janu- 
ary 1, 1800. American State Papers, Public Lands, Vol. I, p. 103. 

3 Letter of Secretary of War to Return J. Meigs, in Indian Office records. 

4Dated October 20, 1802. 

> Commissioner Meigs mentions that the accompanying plat and field notes of Mr. 
Freeman, the surveyor, will give more abundant details regarding this survey. After 
a careful search, however, no trace has been found among the Indian Office records 


182 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


Status of certain territory.—In this connection it is pertinent to remark 
that the State of North Carolina claimed for her southern boundary 
the thirty-fifth degree of north latitude. 

The line of this parallel was, however, at that time supposed to run 
about 12 miles to the north of what was subsequently ascertained to 
be its true location. 

Between this supposed line of 35° north latitude and the northern- 
most boundary of Georgia, as settled upon by a convention between 
that State and South Carolina in 1787, there intervened a tract of 
country of about 12 miles in width, from north to south, and extending 
from east to west, from the top of the main ridge of mountains which 
divides the eastern from the western waters to the Mississippi River. 
This tract remained, as was supposed, within the chartered limits of 
South Carolina, and in the year 1787 was ceded by that State to the 
United States, subject to the Indian right of occupancy. When the 
Indian title to the country therein described was ceded to the United 
States by the treaty of 1795 with the Cherokees, the eastern portion of 
this 12-mile tract fell within the limits of such cession. 

On its eastern extremity near the head-waters of the French Lroad 
River, immediately at the foot of the main Blue Ridge Mountains, had 
been located, for a number of years prior to the treaty, a settlement of 
about fifty families of whites, who by its ratification became occupants of 
the public domain of the United States, but who were outside the terri- 
torial jurisdiction of any State. These settlers petitioned Congress to 
retrocede the tract of country upon which they resided to South Carolina, 
in order that they might be brought within the protection of the laws of 
that State.! A resolution was reported in the House of Representatives, 
from the committee to whom the subject had been referred, favoring 
such a course,’ but Congress took no effective action on the subject, 
and when the State boundaries came to be finally adjusted in that re- 








and files of the plat and field notes in question. There is much difficulty in ascer- 
taining the exact point of departure of ‘‘ Meigs Line” from Great Iron Mountains. 
In the report of the Tennessee and North Carolina boundary commissioners in 1821 
it is stated to be 314 miles by the course of the mountain ridge in a general south- 
westerly course from the crossing of Cataluche Turnpike ; 94 miles in a similar direc- 
tion from Porter’s Gap; 214 miles in a northeasterly direction from the crossing of 
Equovetley Path, and 334 miles in a like course from the crossing of Tennessee 
River. All of these courses and distances follow the crest of the Great Iron Mount- 
ains. It is stated to the author, by General R. N. Hood, of Knoxville, Tenn., that 
there is a tradition that ‘Meigs Post” was found some years since about 1} miles 
southwest of Indian Gap. A map of the survey of Qualla Boundary, by M.S. Temple, 
in 1876, shows a portion of the continuation of ‘‘Meigs Line” as passing about 14 
miles east of Quallatown. Surveyor Temple mentions it as running ‘8. 50° E, (for- 
merly 8. 524° E.”) 

‘See memorial of Matthew Patterson and others, dated ‘‘French Broad, 8th Jan- 
uary, 1800,” printed in American State Papers, Public Lands, Vol. I, p. 104. 

* This resolution was reported by Mr. Harper, from the committee to whom it was 
referred, to the House of Representatives, April 7, 1800, andis printed in American 
State Papers, Public Lands, Vol. I, p. 103. 


ROYCE. ] TREATY OF OCTOBER 24, 1804. 183 


gion the tract in question was found to be within the limits of North 
Carolina. 

Yellow Creek settlement.—After that portion of the boundary of the 
country ceded by the treaty of 1798 which extended along the foot of 
Cumberland Mountain until it intersected ‘‘ Campbell’s Line” had been 
surveyed, complaint was made by certain settlers on Yellow Creek that 
by the action of the surveyors in not prolonging the line to its true 
point of termination, their homes had been left within the Indian country. 

Thereupon the Secretary of War instructed Agent Meigs! to go in 
person and examine the line as surveyed with a view to ascertaining 
the truth concerning the complaints. 

It was ascertained that the “ point” of Campbell’s Line was not on 
Cumberland Mountain proper, but on the ridge immediately east thereof, 
known as Poor Valley Ridge. This ridge is nearly as lofty as the main 
range, and Colonel Campbell, in approaching it from the east, had mis- 
taken it for that range and established his terminal point accordingly. 
The surveyors under the treaty of 1798, assuming the correctness of Col- 
onel Campbell’s survey, had made the line of their survey close thereon. 
By such action the Indian boundary in that locality was extended 332 
poles further to the east than would have been the case had the true 
reading of the treaty been followed. 

A number of families of settlers on Yellow Creek, together with a tract 
of about 2,500 acres of land, were thus unfortunately left within the 
Indian country. All efforts of Agent Meigs to secure a relinquishment 
of this strip of territory from the Indians were, however, ineffectual.” 


TREATY CONCLUDED OCTOBER 24, 1804; PROCLAIMED MAY 17, 1824.3 


Held at “ Tellico Block House,” Tennessee, between Daniel Smith and Re- 
turn J. Meigs, commissioners on the part of the United States, and the 
principal chiefs representing the Cherokee Nation. 


MATERIAL PROVISIONS. 


It is agreed and stipulated that — 

1. The Cherokee Nation relinquish and cede to the United States a 
tract of land bounding southerly on the boundary line between the State 
of Georgia and the Cherokee Nation, beginning at a point on the said 
boundary line northeasterly of the most northeast plantation in the set- 
tlement known by the name of Wafford’s Settlement, and running at 
right angles with the said boundary line 4 miles into the Cherokee land, 
thence at right angles southwesterly and parallel to the first mentioned 
boundary line so far as that a line to be run at right angles southerly to 





‘February 7, 1803. See Indian Office records. 

2 See report of Agent Return J. Meigs to the Secretary of War, May 5, 1503, on file in 
the Office of Indian Affairs. 

* United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 228. 


184 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


the said first mentioned boundary line shall include in this cession all 
the plantations in Waftord’s Settlement, so called, as aforesaid. 

2. In consideration of this cession the United States agree to pay the 
Cherokees $5,000, in goods or cash, upon the signing of the treaty, and 
an annuity of $1,000. 


HISTORICAL DATA. 
NEW TREATY AUTHORIZED BY CONGRESS. 


Congress, under date of February 19, 1799,! appropriated $25,000 to 
defray the expense of negotiating a treaty or treaties with the Indians, 
and again, on the 13th of May, 1800,’ appropriated $15,000 to defray 
the expense of holding a treaty or treaties with the Indian tribes south- 
west of the Ohio River, with the proviso that nothing in the act 
should be construed to admit an obligation on the part of the United 
States to extinguish for the benefit of any State or individual the In- 
dian claim to any iands lying within the limits of the United States. 

Pursuant to the authority conferred by these enactments, President 
Jefferson appointed’ General James Wilkinson, Wim. R. Davie, and Benj. 
Hawkins as commissioners, and they were instructed by the Secretary 
of War to proceed to negotiate treaties with the Cherokees, Creeks, 
Choctaws, and Chicikasaws. 

Objects of the treaty.—The objects sought to be attained with the 
Cherokees were to secure their consent, Ist. To cede to the United 
States all that portion of their territory lying to the northward of a 
direct line to be run from a point mentioned in treaty of October 2, 
1798, on Tennessee River, 1 mile above its junction with the Clinch, to 
the point at or near the head of tie West Fork of Stone’s River, on the 
ridge dividing the waters of the Cumberland ana Duck Rivers which 
is struck by a southwest line from the point where the Kentucky road 
crosses Cumberland River, as described in the treaty of Holston. 

2. That the Tennessee River should be the boundary from its mouth 
to the mouth of Duck River; that Duck River should be the boundary 
thence to the mouth of Rock Creek; and that a direct line should be 
run for a continuation of the boundary from the mouth of Rock Creek 
to the point on the ridge that divides the waters of Cumberland from 
Duck River. 

3. That a road should be opened from the boundary line to a cireular 
tract on Tennessee River at the mouth of Bear River, reserved to the 
United States by treaty of 1786 with the Chickasaws. From this point 
the road should continue until it reached the Choctaw territory, where 
it was to connect with a road through the country of the iatter to 





1 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. I, p, 618. 
2 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. II, p. 82. 
3 The President’s appointment of these commissioners bore date of June 12, 1801- 


ROYCE. | TREATY OF OCTOBER 24, 1804. 185 


Natchez. The entire line of this road must be open to the free use of 
citizens of the United States. 

4. In case the Indians should refuse to cede any of the lands desig- 
nated, the commissioners were instructed to obtain, if possible, a cession 
of all the land lying northward of the road leading from Knoxville to 
the Nashville settlements, run conformably to the treaty of 1791. If 
they should be unwilling to grant this, then to ask for a strip of land 
from 1 to 5 miles in width, to include the said road in its whole extent 
across their lands. Whether success or failure should attend the first 
or second objects of their mission, the commissioners were te seek the 
consummation of the third proposition for a road to the Bear Creek 
reservation, which would otherwise be of no practical value to the 
United States. 

If consent was obtained to the first three proposals or to the alterna- 
tive marked 4th, an annuity of $1,000 was authorized and an immedi- 
ate sum not exceeding $5,000 in cash or goods. If, as had been repre- 
sented to the War Department, the Cherokees and Chickasaws both 
claimed the land on either side of Tennessee River for a considerable 
distance, the commissioners were instructed that they must obtain the 
assent of both tribes to the opening of the road. 

Six days after the issuance of these instructions, a delegation of 
Cherokees, headed by Chief “Glass,” arrived in Washington, and ob- 
tained an interview with the Secretary of War. They represented that 
the promise had been made them, at the treaty of 1798, that they would 
never be asked to cede any more land. Now they learned that the 
United States was about to hold another treaty with them to secure 
further cessions. They also desired to know whether the United States 
or the settlers got the land theretofore ceded, and why they had not 
been furnished with the map showing the boundary lines by the treaty 
of 1798, as had been promised them. In his reply,? after seeing the 
President, the Secretary of war informed them that no desire existed 
to purchase any more land from them unless they were anxious to sell; 
that the map should be at once furnished them; that the States of 
Kentucky and Tennessee had been formed out of the lands already 
purchased from them, and the main object of the proposed treaty with 
their nation was to secure the right of way for roads through their 
country in order to maintain communication between detached white 
settlements. 

The delegation strenuously objected to the proposed “Georgia” road 
and were informed that the matter would not be pressed, but that the 
road to Bear River and Natchez was a necessity. 

As a result of the visit of this delegation, the instructions to Messrs. 
Wilkinson, Davie, and Hawkins were modified,” it being stated by the 


‘This interview occurred, as shown by the Indian Office records, on the 30th of 
June, 1801, and was adjourned to meet again on the 3d of July. 
2 July 3, 1801. See Indian Office records. 





186 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


Seeretary of War that he had been mistaken as to part of the line be- 
tween the United States and the Cherokees. He therefore directed that 
the second object of their instructions should be suspended as regarded 
both the Cherokees and the Chickasaws. Commissioner Davie having 
declined his appointment, General Andrew Pickens was substituted 
in his stead.! 

Failure of negotiations.—It is only necessary to observe that the com- 
missioners failed in the accomplishment of any of their designs with 
the Cherokees. 

WAFKORD’S SETTLEMENT. 

Prior to the survey and marking of the boundary line near UCurrahee 
Mountain in Georgia, provided for by the Cherokee treaty of 1785 and 
the Creek treaty of 1790, which survey did not occur until 1798, one 
Colonel Watford, in company with sundry other persons, had formed a 
settlement in that vicinity, which proved to be within the limits of the 
Indian country. 

Inasmuch as it was supposed these parties had ignorantly placed 
themselves within the Indian line and had made considerable and val- 
uable improvements, the Government was indisposed to use harsh or 
forcible means for their ejection, but rather approved of the urgent ap- 
peals from Colonel Wafford and his neighbors to make an effort to 
secure the relinquishment from the Indians of a tract sufficient to em- 
brace their settlement. 

The Government had been laboring under the impression that these 
lands belonged to the Creeks, but the delegation of the Cherokees, 
headed by “The Glass,” who visited Washington in the summer of 1801, 
claimed them as Cherokee territory, and asked for the removal of the 
settlers. Commissioners Wilkinson, Hawkins, and Pickens had been 
instructed? to negotiate with the Creeks for the purchase of this tract, 
but they having reported, upon examination, that the title was un- 
doubtedly in the Cherokees, were directed’ to report upon the expe- 
diency of applying to the Cherokees for a cession of the same. 

Such an application having at this time been unfavorably received 
by the Cherokees, nothing further was done in the matter until the 
winter of 1803, when the Secretary of War directed a conference to be 
held with them for the double purpose of securing a cession or a lease for 
seven years of the ** Wafford Settlement” tract and the Indian consent to 
aright of way fora road through their country from Southwest Point or 
Tellico Factory to Athens, Ga., with the establishment of the neces- 
sary houses of entertainment for travelers along such route. For this 
latter concession he was authorized to offer them the sum of $500. The 





1 July 16, 1801. See Indian Office records. 
2 July 17,1801. See Indian Office records. 
’ June 10,1802. See Indian Office records. 
*February 19, 1803. See Indian Office records. 


noycr.] TREATY OF OCTOBER 24, 1804. 187 


Cherokees having refused both these propositions, Agent Meigs was 
directed! to secure the granting of the road privilege, if possible, by 
offering Vann® and other men of influence among them a proper in- 
ducement to enlist their active co-operation in the matter. This latter 
method seems to have been effective, for later in the season* the Sec- 
retary of War transmitted to the governors of Georgia and Tennessee 
an extract from an agreement entered into with the Cherokees pro- 
viding for an opening of the desired road, stating that, as the United 
States had no funds applicable to the laying out and construction of 
such a road, it would be proper for the legislatures of those States to 
make the necessary provision therefor. 

The clamor for more land by the constant tide of immigration that 
was flowing into Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia from the North and 
East became more and more importunate. The desire to settle on In- 
dian land was as potent and insatiable with the average border settler 
then as it is now. 


FURTHER NEGOTIATIONS AUTHORIZED. 


Notwithstanding the recent and oft-repeated refusals of the Chero- 
kees to part with more land, a new commission, consisting of Return J. 
Meigs and Daniel Smith, was appointed and instructed* by the Secre- 
tary of War to negotiate a treaty for the cession of lands in Kentucky, 
Tennessee, or Georgia, and particularly of the tract near the Currahee 
Mountain, including the Wafford settlement. 

They were authorized to pay for the first cession « sum not exceed- 
ing $14,000, coupled with an annuity of $3,000, and for the ‘* Wafford 
tract” not exceeding $5,000, together with an annuity of $1,000, and 
were directed to give ‘* Vann,” a Cherokee chief, $200 or $300 to secure 
his influence in favor of the proposed purchase. 

Purchase of Wafford settlement tract.—In pursuance of these instrue- 
tions a conference was held with the Cherokees at Tellico, Tenn.,° at 
which they concluded the arrangements for the cession of the Wafford 
tract, but failed in their further objects. The treaty was signed on the 
24th of October, and transmitted to the Secretary of War a week 
later,’ two persons haying been appointed to designate and run the 





May 30, 1803. 
2“Vann” was a half-breed of considerable ability and shrewdness, and was at this 
time perhaps the most influential chief among the Cherokees. His home was on the 
route of the proposed Georgia road, and when the road was constructed he opened a 
store and house of entertainment for travelers, from which he derived a considerable 
income. 

3Letter of Secretary of War to governors of Georgia and Tennessee, dated No- 
bember 21, 1803. 
4 April 4, 1804. 
®October 10,1804. Sce letter of Daniel Smith to Secretary of War, October 31, 1504. 
®Oetober 31, 1804. 


188 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


lines of the ceded tract, which was found to be 23 miles and 64 chains 
in length and 4 miles in. width.! 

Singular disappearance of treaty.—No action having been taken look- 
ing toward the ratification of this treaty for several years ensuing, Re- 
turn J. Meigs, in the winter of 1811,’ addressed a letter to the Secre- 
tary of War calling attention to it, setting forth the fact that its con- 
sideration had theretofore been postponed on account of a misunder- 
standing in relation to the limits of the ceded tract, but that the Cher- 
okees had now of their own motion, and at their own expense, had a 
survey made of 10 miles and 12 chains in length in addition to the orig- 
inal survey, which would make the tract ceded 33 miles and 76 chains 
in length, and which would include the plantation of every settler who 
could make the shadow of a claim to settlement prior to the survey of 
the general boundary line run in 1797° by Colonel Hawkins. He there- 
fore concluded that there could be no reason for farther postponing the 
ratification of the treaty, and urged that it be done without delay. 

Notwithstanding this letter of Agent Meigs no further notice seems 
to have been taken of the treaty, and it had been entirely lost sight of 
until attention was again called to it by a Cherokee delegation visiting 
Washington early in 1824, nearly twenty years after its conclusion.‘ 

After diligent search among the records of the War Department, 
Secretary Calhoun reported® that no such treaty could be found and 
no evidence that any such treaty had ever been concluded. Whereupon 
the Cherokee delegation produced their duplicate copy of the treaty to- 
gether with other papers relating to it. The Secretary of War, after 
receiving a reply® to a letter addressed by him to Colonel McKee, of the 
House of Representatives (who was one of the subscribing witnesses to 
the treaty), became satisfied of its authenticity, and the President 
thereupon’? transmitted the Cherokee duplicate to the Senate, which 
body advised and consented to its ratification. It was duly proclaimed 
by the President on the 17th of May, 1824.° 





‘Commissioner Smith in his letter of October 31, 1804, te the Secretary of War, 
states that two persons on the part of the United States, to be accompanied by two 
Cherokee chiefs, had been designated to run the boundaries of this cession. The 
propriety was then urged on the Cherokees by the commissioners of making ‘a cession 
of the lands lying between East and West Tennessee. Several days were consumed 
in urging this proposal, and a majority of the chiefs were probably in fayor of it, but 
Commissioner Smith remarks that a majority, unless it amounts almost to unanimity, 
is not considered with them sufficient to determine in matters of great interest, par- 
ticularly in making cessions of lands. 

2 December 20, 1811. 

’Tt is stated in a resolution of the Georgia legislature, passed June 16, 1802, that 
this line was surveyed by Colonel Hawkins in 1798. 

‘The letter of the Cherokee delegation calling attention to this matter is dated 
January 19, 1824. 

° February 6, 1824. 

®April 15, 1824. 

7 April 30, 1824. 

* United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 228. 


ROYCE. ] TREATY OF OCTOBER 25, 1805. 189 


TREATY CONCLUDED OCTOBER 25, 1805; PROCLAIMED APRIL 24, 1806.! 


Held at Tellico, Tenn., between Return J. Meigs and Daniel Smith, com- 
missioners on behalf of the United States, and certain chiefs and headmen 
of the Cherokees, representing that nation. 


MATERIAL PROVISIONS. 


1. All former treaties providing for peace and prevention of crimes 
are continued in force. 

2. The Cherokees cede to the United States all the land which they 
have heretofore claimed lying to the nerth of the following boundary 
line: Beginning at the mouth of Duck River; thence up the main stream 
of the same to the junction of the fork at the head of which Fort Nash 
stood, with the main south fork ; thence a direct course to a point on the 
Tennessee River bank opposite the mouth of Hiwassa River. If the line 
from Hiwassa should leave out Field’s settlement, it is to be marked 
around his improvement and then continued the straight course; thence 
up the middle of the Tennessee River (but leaving all the islands to the 
Cherokees) to the mouth of Clinch River; thence up the Clinch River 
to the former boundary live agreed upon with the said Cherokees, re- 
serving at the same time to the use of the Cherokees a small tract lying 
at and below the mouth of Clinch River; from the mouth extending 
thence down the Tennessee River from the mouth of Clinch to a notable 
rock on the north bank of the Tennessee in view from Southwest Point; 
thence a course at right angles with the river to the Cumberland road ; 
thence eastwardly along the same to the bank of Clinch River, so as to 
secure the ferry landing to the Cherokees up to the first hill and down 
the same to the mouth thereof, together with two other sections of one 
square mile each, one of which is at the foot of Cumberland Mountain, 
at and near the place where the turnpike gate now stands, the other on 
the north bank of the Tennessee River where the Cherokee Talootiske 
now lives. And whereas from the present cession made by the Chero- 
kees, and other circumstances, the sites of the garrisons at Southwest 
Point and Tellico are become not the most convenient and suitable 
places for the accommodation of the said Indians, it may become ex- 
pedient to remove the said garrisons and factory to some more suitable 
place; three other square mile~ are reserved for the particular disposal 
of the United States on the north bank of the Tennessee opposite to 
and below the mouth of Hiwassa. 

3. In consideration of the foregoing cession the United States agree 
to pay $3,000 at once in merchandise, $11,000 in 90 days, and an annuity 
of $3,000. 

4. The United States to have the use of two roads through the Cher- 
okee country, one from the head of Stone’s River to Georgia road, and 





' Cuited States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 93. 


190 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


the other from Franklin to the Tombigbee settlements, crossing the Ten. 
nessee River at Muscle Shoals. 

5. Treaty to take effect upon ratification by the President by and 
with the advice and consent of the Senate. 


TREATY CONCLUDED OCTOBER 27, 1805; PROCLAIMED JUNE 10, 1806.! 


Held at Tellico, Tenn., between Return J. Meigs and Daniel Smith, com- 
missioners on behalf of the United States, and certain chiefs and head- 
men of the Cherokees, representing that nation. 


MATERIAL PROVISIONS. 


1. The Cherokees cede the section of land at Southwest Point. ex- 
tending to Kingston, reserving the ferries and the first island in Ten- 
nessee River above the mouth of Clinch River. 

2. The Cherokees consent to the free and unmolested use by the 
United States of the mail road from Tellico to Tombigbee so far as it 
passes through their country. 

3. In consideration of the foregoing the United States agree to pay 
the Cherokees $1,600 within 90 days. 

4. Treaty to be obligatory on ratification by the President by and 
with the advice and consent of the Senate. 


HISTORICAL DATA RESPECTING BOTH TREATIES. 


CONTINUED NEGOTIATIONS AUTHORIZED, 


The commissioners (Return J. Meigs and Daniel Smith) who were 
appointed and instructed under date of April 4, 1804, and who nego- 
tiated the treaty of October 24, 1804, with the Cherokees, it will be 
remembered, failed in the object of their instructions, except as to the 
single matter of securing the cession of a tract covering the settlement of 
Colonel Wafford and others near Currahee Mountain. They were, how- 
ever, directed to continue their negotiations from time to time until the 
full measure of their original instructions should be secured. 

Treaties of October 25 and 27, 1805, considered together.—This course 
was pursued, and after several fruitless conferences the commissioners 
succeeded in concluding the treaties of October 25, 1805, and October 
27, 1805. Inasmuch as these two treaties were negotiated by the same 
commissioners, acting under the same instructions and at the same con- 
ference, they will be considered together. The treaties were upon their 
conclusion transmitted to the Secretary of War, and, upon submission 
to the Senate, that body duly advised and consented to their ratifica- 
tion. They were ratified and proclaimed by the President on the 24th 
of April and 10th of June, 1806, respectively.* 





1 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 95. 
2November 2, 1805. See letter of transmittal of Return J. Meigs and Daniel Smith. 
3 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, pp. 93 and 95. 


ROYCE. ] TREATIES OF OCTOBER 25 AND 27, 1805. 191 


Secret agreement with Doublehead.—Following the transmission of the 
treaties to the Secretary of War by the commissioners, the latter ad- 
dressed! an explanatory communication to him, in which they set forth 
that by the terms of the treaty of October 25, 1805, there were reserved 
three square miles of land, “ for the particular disposal of the United 
States, on the north bank of the Tennessee, opposite and below the 
mouth of Hiwassa.” This reservation, they affirmed, was predicated 
ostensibly on the supposition that the garrison at Southwest Point and 
the United States factory at Tellico would be placed thereon during 
the pleasure of the United States, but that they had stipulated with 
** Doublehead,” a Cherokee chief, that whenever the United States 
should find this land unnecessary for the purposes mentioned it was to 
revert to him (Doublehead), provided that he should retain one of the 
square miles to his own use, but should relinquish his right and claim 
to the other two sections in favor of John D. Chisholm aud John Riley 
in equal shares. 

Purchase of site for State capital—The cession by the treaty of Octo- 
ber 27, 1805, of the section of land at Southwest Point was secured upon 
the theory that the State of Tennessee would find Kingston a convenient 
and desirable place for the establishment of the State capital. A sub- 
sequent change of circumstances and public sentiment, however, caused 
it to be located seven years later at Nashville. 

Boundaries surveyed.—On the 11th of July, 1806, the Secretary of War 
notified Return J. Meigs of his appointment as commissioner to super- 
intend the running and marking of the line ‘‘from the junction of the 
fork at the head of which Fort Nash stood with the main south fork 
of Duck River to a point on the Tennessee River bank opposite the 
mouth of Hiwassee River.” He was also to superintend the survey of 
the lines of the reserved tracts agreeably to the treaty of October 25, 
1805. 

He was directed to appoint a surveyor, but before running the line 
from Duck to Tennessee Rivers above described, to have him survey 
and mark the lines of the 3-mile tract reserved opposite to and below 
the mouth of Hiwassee, and also, when completed, to designate the most 
suitable site for the military post, factory, and agency, each site to be 
500 feet square and 40 rods distant from the others. 

Commissioner Meigs followed the letter of his instructions and caused 
the lines to be surveyed in accordance therewith. The line from Duck 
River to the mouth of Hiwassee was begun on the 9th and finished on 
the 26th of October, 1806. The point of departure at the west end of 
the boundary line was a red elm tree, trimmed and topped, standing on 
the extreme point of land formed by the confluence of that branch of 
Duck River at the head of which Fort Nash stood, with the main south 
fork of the river. The eastern terminus of the line was a mulberry tree 





1 January 10, 1806. 


192 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


on the north bank of Tennessee River opposite the mouth of Hiwassee 
River, 73 miles and 166 poles from the beginning.! 


CONTROVERSY CONCERNING ‘‘DOUBLEHEAD” TRACY, 


Colonel Martin, who was employed by Commissioner Meigs, also sur- 
veyed under the latter’s direction during the same month the four small 
reserved tracts described in the treaty of October 25, 1805.! One of 
these afterwards produced much controversy. The language of the 
treaty called for three square miles on the north bank of Tennessee River, 
opposite to and below the mouth of Hiwassee River. Colonel Meigs, who 
was one of the commissioners who negotiated the treaty and was there- 
fore entirely familiar with its intent, caused this tract to be surveyed 
adjoining the main line of cession, extending from Duck River to the 
mouth of Hiwassee and north of that line, which placed the tract 
opposite to and above the mouth of Hiwassee, instead of ‘opposite to 
and below” the mouth of that river.’ 

As above stated, while this reserve was ostensibly for the location of 
a military post and factory or trading establishment, it was really in- 
tended for the Cherokee chief Doublehead and other influential persons, 
as the price of their influence in securing from the Cherokees the exten- 
sive cession of land granted by the treaty. 

This was sought to be secured by means of a secret article attached 
to the treaty. This article was reported to the War Department by the 
treaty commissioners? and made a matter of record, but it was never 
sent to the State Department nor to the Senate for the advice and con- 
sent of that body. After Agent Meigs had erected the Hiwassee gar- 
rison buildings on the tract, suit was brought in 1809 by Colonel Me- 
Lung against the agent for the recovery of the land and mesne profits, 
basing his claim to title upon a grant from the State of North Carolina, 
of date long prior to the treaty of 1805. The suit was decided in the 
plaintiff’s favor by the Tennessee courts. Subsequently, in 1838, John 
Riley made application to the Government for compensation for the loss 
of his one-third interest in this tract. The question was submitted to 
the Attorney-General of the United States for his opinion. He decided 
that the secret article, not having been submitted to the Senate for ap- 
proval, was not to be considered as any part of the treaty; but that, if 
the commissioners had any authority for making such an agreement, the 
defective execution of their powers ought not to prejudice parties act- 
ing in good faith and relying on their authority; nevertheless, no relief 
could be had except through the action of Congress. 

This secret article was also applicable to the small tract at and below 
the mouth of Clinch River, to the 1 mile square at the foot of Cumber- 


! See field notes of Colonel Martin on file in office of Indian Affairs. 
* Letter of R. J. Meigs to Secretary of War, March 4, 1811. 
* Letter of Meigs and Smith to Secretary of War, January 10, 1806. 


ROYCE. | TREATY OF JANUARY 7, 1806. 193 


land Mountain, and to the 1 mile square on the north bank of the Tennes- 
see River, where Cherokee Talootiske lived. The first mentioned tract 
was also intended for the benefit of Doublehead, who leased it Feb- 
ruary 19, 1806, to Thomas H. Clark for twenty years. Before the expi- 
ration of the lease Doublehead was killed by some of his own people. 
December 10, 1820, the State of Tennessee assumed to grant the tract 
to Clark. ! 

The other two tracts alluded to of one square mile each were in- 
tended for Cherokee Talootiske. May 31, 1808, Talootiske perpetually 
leased his interest in the Cumberland Mountain tract to Thomas H. 
Clark. September 17, 1816, Clark purchased the interest of Robert 
Bell in the same tract, the latter deriving his alleged title under a 
grant from North Carolina to A. McCoy in July, 1793. This tract was 
also included in a grant from North Carolina to J. W. Lackey and 
Starkey Donaldson, dated January 4, 1795. The tract on Tennessee 
River, Talootiske sold to Robert King, whose assigns also claimed the 
title under the aforesaid grant from North Carolina to Lackey and Don- 
aldson.! 

From the phraseology of the treaty in making these several reserya- 
tions, it was concluded advisable in subsequent negotiations to secure 
a relinquishment of the tribal title thereto, which was done by the treaty 
of July 18, 1817. 


TREATY CONCLUDED JANUARY 7, 1806; PROCLAIMED MAY 23, 1807.2 


Held at Washington City, D. C., between Henry Dearborn, Secretary of War, 
specially authorized thereto by the President of the United States, and cer- 
tain chiefs and headmen of the Cherokee Nation, duly authorized and 
empowered by said nation. 


MATERIAL PROVISIONS. 


1. The Cherokees relinquish to the United States all claim to “all 
that tract of country which lies to the northward of the river Tennessee 
and westward of a line to be run from the upper part of Chickasaw Old 
Fields, at the upper point of an island called Chickasaw Island on said 
river, to the most easterly head-waters of that branch of said Tennes- 
see River called Duck River, excepting the two following described 
tracts, viz: one tract bounded southerly on the said Tennessee River, 
at a place called the Muscle Shoals; westerly, by a creek called Te Kee, 
ta, no-eh, or Cyprus Creek, and easterly, by Chu, wa, lee, or Elk River 
or Creek, and northerly by a line to be drawn from a point on said Elk 
River, ten miles on a direct line from its mouth * * * toa point on 
the said Cyprus Creek, ten miles on a direct line from its junction with 


See report of Commissioner Indian Affairs to Secretary of War, December 9, 1834. 
* United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 101. 


o ETH 13 








194 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


the Tennessee River. The other tract is to be two miles in width on the 
north side of Tennessee River, and to extend northerly from that river 
three miles, and bounded as follows, viz: Beginning at the mouth of 
Spring Creek and running up said creek three miles on a straight line; 
thence westerly two miles at right angles with the general course of said 
ereek ; thence southerly on a line parallel with the general course of 
said creek to the Tennessee River; thence up said river by its waters 
to the beginning, which first reserved tract is to be considered the com- 
mon property of the Cherokees who now live on the same, including 
John D. Chesholm, Au, tow, we, and Cheh Chuh, and the other reserved 
tract, on which Moses Melton now lives, is to be considered the property 
of said Melton and of Charles Hicks, in equal shares. * * * Also 
relinquish * * * all right or claim * * * tothe Long Island 
in Holston River.” 

2. The United States agree to pay, in consideration of the foregoing 
cession, $2,000 in money upon the ratification of the treaty; $5,000 in 
four equal annual installments; to erect a grist-mill within one year in 
the Cherokee country; to furnish a machine for cleaning cotton; and to 
pay the Cherokee chief, Black Fox, $100 annually during his life. 

3. The United States agree to urge upon the Chickasaws to consent 
to the following boundary between that nation and the Cherokees south 
of Tennessee River, viz: Beginning at the mouth of Caney Creek near 
the lower part of Muscle Shoals, and run up said creek to its head, and 
in a direct line from thence to the Flat Stone, or Rock, the old corner 
boundary. 

4, The United States agree that the claims of the Chickasaws to the 
two tracts reserved by article 1 of this treaty, on north side of the Ten- 
nessee River, shall be settled by the United States in such manner as 
will secure the title to the Cherokees. 


TREATY CONCLUDED SEPTEMBER 11, 1807; PROCLAIMED APRIL 
22, 1808.! 


Held at upper end of Chickasaw Island, in Tennessee River, between James 
Robertson and Return J. Meigs, acting under authority of the Executive 
of the United States, and a delegation of Cherokee chiefs representing said 
nation. 

MATERIAL PROVISIONS. 


This treaty is simply an elucidation of the first article of the treaty 
of January 7, 1806, and declares that the eastern limits of the tract ceded 
by the latter treaty “shall be bounded by a line so to be run from the 
upper end of the Chickasaw Old Fields, a little above the upper point 
of an island, called Chickasaw Island, as will most directly intersect 
the first waters of Elk River; thence carried to the great Cumberland 





1United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 103. 


royce. | TREATY OF SEPTEMBER 11, 1807. 195 


Mountain, in which the waters of Elk River have their source; then 
along the margin of said mountain, until it shall intersect the lands 
heretofore ceded to the United States at the said Tennessee ridge.” 

In consideration of this concession, the United States agree to pay 
to the Cherokees $2,000 and to permit the latter to hunt upon the tract 
ceded until the increase of settlements renders it improper. 


HISTORICAL DATA. 
CONTROVERSY CONCERNING BOUNDARIES, 


Shortly after the conclusion of the treaties of October 25 and 27, 1805, 
a delegation of Cherokee chiefs and headmen visited Washington. 
Messrs. Return J. Meigs and Daniel Smith, the commissioners who had 
negotiated those treaties, accompanied them. 

The Secretary of War, Hon. Henry Dearborn, was specially depu- 
tized by the President to conduct negotiations with them for the pur- 
chase of such portions of their country as they might feel willing to sell, 
but more especially to extinguish their claim to the region of territory 
lying to the north and east of Tennessee River and west of the head 
waters of Duck River. 

The negotiations were concluded and the treaty was signed on the 7th 
of January, 1806,! and the President transmitted the same to the Senate 
on the 24th of the same month ; but that body did not consent to its 
ratification for more than a year afterwards.” 

At the time of the conclusion of this treaty, it was supposed by all 
the parties thereto that the eastern limit of the cession therein defined 
would include all of the waters of Elk River, the impression being that 
the headwaters of Duck River had their source farther to the east than 
those of the Elk.® 

The region of country in question had for many years been claimed 
by both the Cherokees and the Chickasaws, and the Government of the 
United States, not desiring to incur the animosity of either of these 
Indian nations, had preferred rather to extinguish by purchase the daim 
of each. With this end in view, a treaty had already been concluded 
with the Chickasaws, under date of July 23, 1805,‘ resulting in their re- 
linguishment of all claim to the land north of Duck River lying east of 
the Tennessee and to a tract lying between Duck and Tennessee Rivers,, 
on the north and south, and east of the Columbian Highway, so as to. 
include all the waters of Elk River. It had been the intention that the 
eastern boundary of the cession made by both these nations should be 








1 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 101. 

2 May, 1807. - 

® Message of President Jefferson to U. 8. Senate, March 29, 1808, and letter of R. J. 
Meigs, September 28, 1807. American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 753. 

‘United States Statntes at Large, Vol. VII. 


196 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


coincident from the head of Chickasaw Island northward, but when 
the country came to be examined with a view to running the line, it was 
found that a strict adherence to the text of the Cherokee cession would 
leave about two hundred families of settlers on the headwaters of Blk 
River still within the Indian country.' In the mean time the Chicka- 
saws, having learned that the United States had purchased of the 
Cherokees their suppesed claim to the territory as far west as the 
Tennessee River, including a large region of country to the westward 
of the limits of the cession of 1805 by the former, construed that fact as 
a recognition of the sole and absolute title of the Cherokees thereto, 
and became in consequence very much excited and angered. They 
were only pacified by an official letter of assurance from the Secretary 
of War, addressed to Maj. George Colbert, their principal chief,’ wherein 
he stated that in purchasing the Cherokee right to the tract in ques- 
tion the United States did not intend to destroy or impair the right of 
the Chickasaw Nation to the same; but that, being persuaded no actual 
boundary had ever been agreed on between the Chickasaws and Chero- 
kees and that the Cherokees had some claim to a portion of the lands, 
it was thought advisable to purchase that claim, so that whenever the 
Chickasaws should be disposed to convey their title there should be no 
dispute with the Cherokees about it. 

The Cherokees by this treaty also relinquished all claim they might 
have to the Long Island or Great Island, as it was sometimes cadled, of 
Holston River. This island was in reality outside the limits of the 
country assigned the Cherokees by the first treaty between them and 
the United States, at Hopewell, in 1785, but they had always since 
maintained that no cession had ever been made of it by them, and it was 
deemed wise to insert a specific clause in the treaty under consideration 
to that effect.? 

Boundaries to be surveyed.—Early in 1807‘ the Secretary of War noti- 
fied Agent Meigs that Mr. Thomas Freeman had been appointed to sur- 
vey and mark the boundary line conformably to both the treaty of 1805 
with the Chickasaws and of 1806 with the Cherokees, as well as to sur- 
vey the land ceded between the south line of Tennessee and the Ten- 
nessee River, lying west of the line from about the Chickasaw Old 
Fields to the most eastern source of Duck River. He was also advised 
that General Robertson and himself had been designated to attend and 
superintend the running of such boundary lines. Furthermore, that it 


‘President Jefferson to U. S. Senate, March 29, 1808. American State Papers, 
Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 753. 

‘Vebruary 21, 1806. Indian Office records. 

>On the return home of the Cherokee delegation that visited Washington in 1801, 
‘«The Glass, ” a noted Cherokee chief, represented to his people that the Secretary of 
War had said, ‘‘One Joseph Martin has a claim on the Long Island of Holston River.” 
This the Secretary of War denied, in a letter dated November 20, 1801, to Col. R. J. 
Meigs. 

‘April 1. Indian Office records, 


ROYCE. | TREATY OF MARCH 22, 1816. 197 


was desirable that the eastern line of both cessions should be one and the 
same, foralthough by the Chickasaw treaty the whole waters of Blk River 
were included, it was evident their claim to any lands east of the line 
agreed upon by the Cherokees was more than doubtful; that, there- 
fore, the United States ought not to insist on such a line as would go 
to the eastward of the one defined in the Cherokee treaty, unless the 
latter could be prevailed upon to extend the same, in which event they 
were authorized to offer the Cherokees a moderate compensation there- 
for. 
EXPLANATORY TREATY NEGOTIATED, 

This led, upon the assembly of the commissioners and surveyor at 
Chickasaw Old Fields, in the fall of 1807 (for the purpose of surveying 
and marking the boundary lines in question), to the negotiation of an 
explanatory treaty with certain of the Cherokee chiefs, on the 11th of 
September, 1807,! whereby it was agreed that the Cherokee cession line 
should be extended so far to the eastward as to include all the waters 
of Elk River and thereby be made coincident and uniform with the 
Chickasaw line. 

Secret article—The ostensible consideration paid for this concession, 
as shown by the treaty, was $2,000; but it was secretly agreed that 
$1,000 and two rifles should be given to the chiefs with whom the treaty 
was negotiated.” 

President Jefferson transmitted this latter treaty to the Senate on the 
29th of March, 1808, and having received the consent of that body to its 
ratification, it was proclaimed by the President on the 22d of April 
following. 


TREATY CONCLUDED MARCH 22, 1816; RATIFIED APRIL 8, 18168 


Held at Washington City, D. C., between George Graham, specially au- 
thorized as commissioner therefor by the President of the United States, 
and certain chiefs and headmen duly authorized and empowered by the 
Cherokee Nation. 


MATERIAL PROVISIONS. 


1. The Cherokees cede to the State of South Carolina the following 
tract: Beginning on the east bank of Chattuga River, where the boun- 
dary line of the Cherokee Nation crosses the same, running thence 
with the said boundary line to a rock on the Blue Ridge, where the 
boundary line crosses the same, and which rock has been lately estab- 





‘United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 103. 

> Letter of Return J. Meigs to Secretary of War, September 28,1807,in which he 
says: ‘‘ With respect to the chiefs who have transacted the business with us, they will 
have their hands full to satisfy the ignorant, the obstinate, and the cunning of some 
of their own people, for which they well deserve this silent consideration.” 

* United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 138. 


198 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS 


lished as a corner to the States of North and South Carolina; running 
thence south sixty-eight and a quarter degrees west, twenty miles and 
thirty-two chains, to a rock en the Chattuga River at the thirty-fifth 
degree of north latitude, another corner of the boundaries agreed upon 
by the States of North and South Carolina; thence down and with the 
Chattuga to the beginning. 

2. The United States promise that the State of South Carolina sha?l 
pay to the Cherokee Nation, in consideration of the above cession, 
$5,000, within ninety days after the ratification of the treaty by the 
President and Senate, provided the Cherokee Nation and the State of 
South Carolina shall also ratify the same. 


TREATY CONCLUDED MARCH 22, 1816 ;! RATIFIED APRIL 8, 1816.2 


Held at Washington City, D. C., between George Graham, specially au 
thorized as commissioner therefor by the President of the United States, 
and certain chiefs and headmen duly authorized and empowered by the 
Cherokee Nation. 

MATERIAL PROVISIONS. 


1. The north boundary of the lands ceded by the Creek treaty of 
1814, as between such cession and the Cherokees, is declared to extend 
from a point on the west bank of Coosa River opposite the lower end 
of the Ten Islands and above Fort Strother, in a direct line, to the Flat 
Rock or Stone on Bear Creek, a branch of the Tennessee, which line 
shall constitute the south boundary of the Cherokee country lying west 
of Coosa River and south of Tennessee River. 

2, The Cherokees concede to the United States the right to lay off, 
open, and have the free use of all roads through their country north of 
said line necessary to convenient intercourse between the States of 
Tennessee, Georgia, and Mississippi Territory ; also the free naviga- 
tion of all rivers within the Cherokee territory. The Cherokees agree 
to establish and maintain on the aforementioned roads the necessary 
ferries and public houses. 

3. In order to prevent future disputes concerning the boundary 
above recited, the Cherokees agree to appoint two commissioners to ac- 
company the United States commissioners appointed to run said line. 

4. When the United States appoint a commissioner to lay off a road 
as provided for above, the Cherokees shall also appoint one to accom- 
pany him, who will be paid by the United States. 

5. The United States agree to reimburse individual Cherokees for 
losses sustained by them in consequence of the marching of militia and 
United States troops through their territory, amounting to $25,000. 





‘Two treaties appear of the same date and negotiated by the same parties. It is 
to be noted that the first controls a cession to the State of South Carolina and the 
second defines certain other concessions to the United States. 

2? United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VIL, p. 139. 


ROYCE. | TREATY OF MARCH 22, 1816. 199 
HISTORICAL DATA. 


Subsequent to the ratification of the treaty of September 11, 1807, 
with the Cherokees, no other treaty receiving the final sanction of the 
Senate and President was concluded with them until March 22, 1816;! 
but in the interval sundry negotiations and matters of official impor- 
tance were conducted with them, which it will be proper to summarize. 


COLONEL EARLE’S NEGOTIATIONS FOR THE PURCHASE OF IRON-ORE TRACT. 


In the early part of the year 1807, Col. Elias Earle, of South Carolina, 
proposed to the Secretary of War the establishment of iron works, with 
suitable shops, in the Cherokee Nation, on substantially the following 
conditions, viz: That a suitable place should be looked out and selected 
where sufficient quantities of good iron ore could be found, in the vi- 
cinity of proper water privileges, for such an establishment ;. that the 
Indians should be induced to make a cession of a tract of land, not less 
than 6 miles square, which should embrace the ore bed and water priv- 
ilege; thatso much of the land so ceded as the President of the United 
States should deem proper should be conveyed to him (Earle), includ- 
ing the ore and water facilities, whereon he should be authorized to 
erect iron works, smith shops, and so forth. Earle, on his part, engaged 
to erect such iron works and shops as to enable him to furnish such 
quantities of iron and implements of husbandry as should be sufficient 
for the use of the various Indian tribes in that part of the country, in- 
cluding those on the west side of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers; also 
to deliver annually to the order of the Government of the United States 
such quantities of iron and implements as should be needed for the 
Indian service, and on such reasonable terms as should be mutually 
agreed upon. 

The Secretary of War referred the propositions of Colonel Earle to 
the President of the United States, who gave them his sanction, and 
accordingly Agent Meigs, of the Cherokees, was instructed? to endeavor 
to procure from the Cherokees such a cession as was proposed, so soon 
as Colonel Earle should have explored the country and selected a suit- 
able place for the proposed establishment. Colonel Earle made the 
necessary explorations, and found a place at the mouth of Chickamauga 
Creek which seemed to meet the requirements of the case. 

Thereupon Agent Meigs convened the Indians in council at High- 
wassee, Tennessee, at which Colonel Earle was present, and concluded a 
treaty’ with them. By its terms, in consideration of the sum of $5,000 
and 1,000 bushels of corn, the Cherokees ceded a tract of country 6 





1 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, pp. 138 and 139, 
2 February 28, 1807. 
®’December 2, 1807. See American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 753. 


200 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


miles square at the mouth of Chickamauga Creek, on the south side of 
Tennessee River, to be laid off in square form so as to include the 
creek to the best advantage for such site. The treaty also contained 
a proviso that in case the ore supply should fail at this point, the 
United States should have full liberty to procure it within the Chero- 
kee territory at the most suitable and convenient place. Twenty-five 
hundred dollars of the consideration was at once paid in cash to the 
Indians and 1,000 bushels of corn agreed to be delivered to them the 
following spring. Colonel Earle carried the treaty to Washington at 
the next session of Congress for ratification.! 

President Jefferson transmitted it to the Senate with a favorable 
message,” but before any action was taken by that body it was ascer- 
tained that the tract selected and ceded was within the limits of the 
State of Tennessee. 

The matter of ratification was therefore postponed, with the hope that 
the State of Tennessee would consent to relinquish her claim to the 
land. In this the President was disappointed. No further action was 
taken for several years, until, it having become evident that no conces- 
sion would be made in the matter by the legislature of Tennessee, the 
United States Senate? unanimously rejected the treaty. In conse- 
quence of this action, Colonel Earle made claim‘ against the Govern- 
ment either for the value of his time and expenses incurred in explor- 
ing the Cherokee country, selecting the site, and procuring the conclu- 
sion of the treaty, or, as an alternative, that the consent of the Chero- 
kees should be secured to the cession of another tract of similar area 
and character. 

The latter proposition was accepted, and Agent Meigs was advised* 
that Mr. Earle had been granted permission to select some other site 
suitable for his iron works, and instructed that in case he did so, nego- 
tiations should again be opened with the Cherokees for an exchange of 
the tract covered by the cession of 1807 for the one newly selected. 

Success, however, does not seem to have attended this second attempt, 
and Agent Meigs was advised ® by the Secretary of War that $985 had 
been paid Colonel Earle for damages sustained by him in the Cherokee 
country while detained there by the Indians, which amount must be de- 
ducted from the Cherokee annuity. 

A third attempt of a similar character was made in 1815, when? Col- 
onel Earle was appointed to negotiate, in conjunction with the Indian 
agent, a treaty with the Cherokees or Chickasaws for the purchase of a 





' Letter of Return J. Meigs to Secretary ef War, December 3. 1807. 

2>March 10, 1808. See American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 752. 
‘January 10, 1812. 

4In March, 1812. 

5 May 14, 1812. 

®March 24, 1814. 

7February 3, 1815. 


ROYCE. ] TREATY OF MARCH 22, 1816. 201 


6-mile square tract for the erection of his proposed iron works. Like 
the previous efforts, it was without results.' 


TENNESSEE FAILS TO CONCLUDE A TREATY WITH THE CHEROKEES. 


Congress on the 18th of April, 1806,? had passed an act entitled “An 
act to authorize the State of Tennessee to issue grants and perfect titles 
to certain lands therein described, and to settle claims to the vacant and 
unappropriated lands within the same.” 

This act, for the purpose of defining the limits of the vacant and un- 
appropriated lands in the State of Tennessee, thereafter to be subject 
to the sole control and disposition of the United States, established the 
following described line, viz: Beginning at the place where the eastern 
or main branch of Elk River intersects the southern boundary of Tenn- 
essee ; running thence due north until such line shall intersect the north- 
ern or main branch of Duck River; thence down the waters of Duck 
River to the military boundary line established by North Carolina in 
1783; thence with the military line west to the place where it intersects 
Tennessee River: thence down the waters of Tennessee River to where 
it intersects the northern line of Tennessee. The act further provided 
that upon the execution by the State of Tennessee (through her Senators 
and Representatives in Congress, duly authorized thereto) of a deed of re- 
linquishment to the United States of all the claim of that State to lands 
lying south and west of the described line, the United States should 
thereupon cede and convey to the State of Tennessee all claim to the 
land north and east of the line, with certain conditions and limitations 
therein prescribed, and with the proviso that nothing contained in the 
act should be construed to affect the Indian title. : 

Predicated upon this act of Congress, the legislature of Tennessee 
passed an act, on the 3d of December, 1807,° appropriating $20,000 for 
the purpose of holding a treaty or treaties with the Cherokees (when 
authorized so to do by the Federal Government) for the purpose of ex- 
tinguishing their claim to all or any part of the lands within the ter- 
ritorial limits of Tennessee lying to the north and east of the line de- 
scribed in the act of Congress just mentioned. 

Congress having assented to the request of Tennessee, the Secretary 
of War appointed? Return J. Meigs a commissioner to superintend the 
negotiations with the Cherokees about to be held with them by the two 
commissioners appointed on the part of that State. Mr. Meigs was ad- 
vised that all the expenses incident to the holding of the treaty, as well 
as any consideration that should be agreed upon in case of a cession by 





1A full history of Colonel Earle’s attempt to secure a site for the erection of iron 
works will be found among the records and files of the Office of Indian Affairs. 

2 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. II, p. 381. See also amendment to this act 
by act of February 18, 1841, United States Statutes at Large, Vol. V, p. 412. 

*Scott’s Laws of North Carolina and Tennessee. 

4March 26, 1808. 


oo 


202 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


the Indians, should be borne by the State of Tennessee, and that the only 
lands the commission were authorized to treat for was that portion of 
the territory described in the act of April 18, 1806, as being ceded to 
Tennessee which should be found to lie east of the line established by 
Robertson and Meigs, running from the upper part of Chickasaw Old 
Fields northwardly so as to include all the waters of Elk River. The 
jealousy with which the Cherokees regarded a proposition for the sale 
of more land, and their especial aversion toward the people and gov- 
ernment of Tennessee, prevented success from attending these negotia- 
tions in any degree. f 


REMOVAL OF CHEROKEES TO THE WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI PROPOSED. 


It had been the policy of the Federal Government, from the beginning 
of its official relations with the Indian tribes, to encourage and assist 
the individuals of those tribes in grasping and accepting the pursuits 
and habits of civilized life, with a view to their preparation for the 
condition in which the rapidly encroaching white settlements would 
in a few years inevitably place them. 

With the disappearance of game the hunter must become a tiller of 
the soil or a herdsman, with the alternative of starvation. This hu- 
mane policy, begun systematically in the first administration of Wash- 
ington,! took the form of a considerable annual expenditure in the pur- 
chase for the Indians of hoes, plows, rakes, and other agricultural im- 
plements, as well as looms, cards, and spinning wheels. Among the 
northwestern tribes these efforts at industrial civilization were product- 
ive of trifling results. The southern tribes, however, and more especially 
the Creeks and Cherokees, had, in considerable numbers, manifested a 
partial though gradually increasing tendency toward self-support. Many 
of them, in addition to raising the necessaries of life, were producers in 
a limited degree of cotton, from which their women had learned to make 
a coarse article of cloth; others owned considerable herds of cattle and 
hogs, and altogether these tribes had made a degree of progress which 
was alike commendable to themselves and encouraging to the Govern- 
ment. 

However, the persistent and unremitting demands of the border set- 
tlers for more land, backed by the thorough sympathy and influence 
of the State governments of Tennessee, North Carolina, and Georgia, as 
well as by their Senators and Representatives in Congress, acted as a 
powerful lever for moving the Congress and Executive of the United 
States to seek the complete possession of the Creek, Cherokee, Choctaw, 
and Chickasaw lands. 

As early as 1803” President Jefferson had suggested the desirability 








‘See report of General Knox, Secretary of War, to President Washington, July 7, 
1789; Creek treaty of 1790; Cherokee treaty of 1791, ete. 
? Confidential message of President Jefferson to Congress, January 18, 1803. 


ROYCE, ] TREATY OF MARCH 22, 1816. 203 


of the removal of these tribes beyond the Mississippi River, although 
the first official action taken in this direction was contained in the fifth 
section of an act of Congress approved March 26, 1804, erecting Loui- 
siana into two Territories. This act appropriated $15,000 to enable the 
President to effect the desired object. This was supplemented in 
1808,' when the Secretary of War, in a letter to Agent Meigs giving 
permission for a delegation of Cherokees to visit Washington, instructed 
him to improve every opportunity of securing the consent of the 
Cherokees to an exchange of their lands for a tract west of the Missis- 
sippi. 

The delegation here spoken of (composed of what were known as 
Upper Cherokees) visited Washington about the Ist of May, 1808, and, 
in the course of a discussion of the subject with the Secretary of War, 
took occasion to complain of an unequal distribution of annuities ae 
tween the Upper and Lower Cherokees, and advanced a proposition that 
a dividing line be run between the territory of these two branches of 
the tribe, inasmuch as the former were cultivators of the soil, and de- 
sired to divide their lands in severalty and become ee of the 
United States, while the latter were addicted to the hunter life and 
were indisposed to adopt civilized habits.2. This proposition met with 
the personal approval of the Secretary of War. He instructed the 
agent* to ascertain the sentiments of the nation upon such a proposi. 
tion, to the end that, if possible, those who adhered to aboriginal habits 
could be induced to accept a country in the newly acquired Territory of 
Louisiana, in lieu of their proportionate share of the country then oe- 
cupied by the Cherokee Nation. In pursuance of this plan, the agent 
lost no opportunity of impressing upon the Cherokees the importance 
of the approaching crisis in their tribal affairs, and the necessity that 
some practical method should be adopted tosolve the problem of sub- 
sistence involved in the rapid diminution of game. ° Many of the Lower 
or “hunter” Cherokees became persuaded of the necessity of looking 
out a new home, and early in January, 1809,‘ President Jetterson ad- 
dressed a “talk” to them, approving their project and promising facil- 
ities for the transportation of a delegation to visit the Arkansas and 
White River countries, where, in case they found a suitable location, the 
United States would assign them a sufficient area of territory for onee 
occupation in exchange for their share of the Cherokee domain east of 
the Mississippi. 

Based upon this proposition, a pioneer delegation of the Indians 
visited that countzy, in the year 1809, and upon their report large num- 
bers (about 2,000, as reported by Agent Meigs) of the nation signified 
their iets of removal as early as the autumn of that year. The 





Marah 25. 

*See letter of Secretary of War to Col. R. J. Meigs, May 5, 1808, 
3May 5, 1808. 

4January 9, 1809 


204 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


United States authorities were not as yet prepared to defray the pe- 
euniary expense of so large a migration. The agent was therefore di- 
rected to discourage for the present anything except the removal of 
individual families.’ The situation remained unchanged until the 
spring of 1811,? when the Secretary of War informed Agent Meigs that 
time and circumstances had rendered it expedient to revive the subject 
of a general removal and exchange of lands. The latter was advised- 
that it was very desirable to secure a cession of the Cherokee lands ly- 
ing within the States of Tennessee and South Carolina, and that in case 
the whole nation could be brought to agree to the proposition of ceding 
these tracts, as the proportionate share of the ‘‘ emigrant party,” in 
exchange for lands to be assigned such party on White and Arkansas 
Rivers, he would be authorized and directed to negotiate a treaty with 
the Cherokee Nation for that purpose. From this time the subject re- 
mained in statu quo for several years, except that small parties of Cher- 
okees, consisting of a few individuals or families, continued to emi- 
grate to the “‘ promised land.” It is perhaps interesting to state, in con- 
nection with this emigration movement of the Cherokees, that it was 
primarily inaugurated shortly after the treaty of 1785, at Hopewell, 
when a few of those dissatisfied with the terms of that instrument em- 
barked in pirogues, and, descending the Tennessee, Ohio, and Mississippi 
Rivers, reached and ascended the Saint Francis, then in the Spanish 
province of Louisiana, where they formed a settlement, from whence in 
a few years they removed toa more satisfactory location on White 
tiver. Here they were joined from time to time by their dissatisfied 
eastern brethren, in familiesand small parties, until they numbered, 
prior to the treaty of 1817, between two and three thousand souls. 


EFFORTS OF SOUTIL CAROLINA TO EXTINGUISIT CHEROKEE TITLE. 


On the 31st of December, 1810, the governor of South Carolina trans- 
mitted to the President a resolution of the legislature of that State 
urging an extinguishment of the Cherokee Indian title to lands within 
her State limits.’ The Secretary of War, in his letter of acknowledg- 
ment, assured the governor that measures would soon be taken to 
bring about the desired cession if possible. Nothing of importance 
seems, however, to have been done until the winter of 1514, when Agent 
Meigs was appointed® a commissioner for the purpose of negotiating a 
treaty with this end in view. He was instructed that the State of 
South Carolina would have an agent present, authorized to defray the 
expenses of the treaty and to adjust the compensation that should be 
agreed upon in consideration of the proposed cession, agreeably to the 





‘Letter of Secretary of War to Col. R. J. Meigs, November 1, 1809. 
?March 27, 13811. 

* Indian Office files. 

4March 28, 1811. 

5 December 26. 


ROYCE. | TREATY OF MARCH 22, 1816. 205 


provisions of the twelfth section of an act of Congress approved March 
30, 1802, for regulating trade and intercourse with the Indian tribes. 

These negotiations not having proved successful, the Secretary of 
War authorized Agent Meigs! to bring a delegation of the Cherokees 
to Washington for this and other purposes of negotiation. 

This delegation arrived early in the spring of 1816, and the Hon. 
George Graham, being specially authorized by the President, concluded 
a treaty on the 22d of March of that year.2. Therein, in consideration 
of the sum of $5,000, to be paid by the State of South Carolina within 
ninety days from the date of its ratification by the President and Sen- 
ate, subject also to ratification by the Cherokee national council and 
by the governor of South Carolina, the Cherokees ceded to that State 
all claim to territory within her boundaries. 

This treaty was transmitted* to the Senate by President Madison,and 
ratified and proclaimed, as set forth in the abstract of its provisions 
hereinbefore given, on the 8th of April, 1816. 


BOUNDARY BETWEEN CHEROKEES, CREEKS, CHOCTAWS, AND CHICKASAWS. 


The lines of demarkation between the respective possessions of the 
Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, and Chickasaw Nations had long been a 
subject of dispute between them. People living in a state of bar- 
barism and principally dependent upon the chase for a livelihood, 
necessarily roam over a vast amount of territory within which no per- 
manent habitations have been established by themselves. An accurate 
definition of the boundaries between them and their nearest neighbors 
pursuing a similar mode of life is unnecessary so long as no disturbing 
factor is brought into the case. But contact with an ever-encroaching 
tide of civilization renders essential an accurate definition of limits. 
The United States, in several of its numerous treaties for the acquisi- 
tion of territory from these four tribes, had been met with conflicting 
claims as to its ownership. In order that future disputes and em- 
barrassments of this character should be avoided, the authorities of 
the United States entertained the idea of causing a boundary line 
to be run and marked between the adjoining territory of these tribes. 
The Indian agents were advised by the Secretary of War‘ that the 
subject was under consideration, the plan being to constitute a com- 
mission, consisting of two representatives selected by each tribe and 
of the United States agents for those tribes, who should, after full 
examination of the country and the subject, agree upon and fix their 
respective boundaries. Owing, however, to the compiicated state of 
our foreign relations and the feverish condition of mind manifested by 
the border tribes, soon followed by war with England and with the 





' November 22, 1815. 

>United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 138. 
3 March 26, 1816. 

4 May 8, 1811. 


206 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


Creek Indians, it became necessary to drop further negotiations on the 
subject, and the matter was not again revived in this form. 

After the treaty of 1814 with the Creeks, however, whereby General 
Jackson exacted from them, as indemnity for the expenses of the war, 
the cession of an immense tract of country in Alabama and Georgia,! 
the question of the proper limits of this cession on the north and west 
became a subject of controversy between the United States and the 
Cherokees, Choctaws, and Chickasaws. 

The United States authorities at Washington were anxious that noth- 
ing should occur in the adjustment of these boundaries which should 
cause a feeling of irritation among those tribes. Commissioners had 
been appointed in the summer of 1815 to survey and mark the bound- 
aries of this Creek cession, and in August of that year we find the 
Secretary of War giving instructions to Agent Meigs, of the Cherokees, 
to meet the boundary commissioners, with a few of the principal Chero- 
kee chiefs, at the point on Coosa River where the south boundary of 
the Cherokee Nation crossed the same, in order that the Cherokees 
should be satisfied that the commissioners began at the proper point. 
Several additional reminders were given the agent, during the progress 
of the survey, that the matter of boundary was a question of fact to be 
ascertained and determined from the best attainable evidence, and that 
care must be taken that no injustice should be done the Cherokees.” 
In the following spring® a delegation of Cherokees was brought to Wash- 
ington, by direction of the War Department, and, pending the comple- 
tion of treaty negotiations with them, the boundary commissioners were 
instructed not to mark the line between the Cherokees and the Creek 
cession until further orders. 

These negotiations resulted in a second treaty of March 22, 18164 
(the one for the cession of the tract in South Carolina bears the same 
date), wherein it was declared that the northern boundary line of the 
Creek cession of 1814 should be established by the running of a line 
from a point on the west bank of Coosa River opposite to the lower end 
of the Ten Islands, above Fort Strother, directly to the Flat Rock or 
Stone on Bear Creek, said Flat Rock being the southwest corner of the 
Cherokee possessions, as defined by the treaty with them concluded 
January 7, 1806. 

This boundary brought forth a vigorous though unavailing protest 
from General Jackson, who argued that the Cherokees never had any 
right to territory south of the Tennessee and west of Coosa River, but 
that it belonged to the Creeks and was properly within the limits of 
their cession of 1814.° 





1 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 120. 

2 Letter of Secretary of War to Agent Meigs, November 22, 1815. 
® March, 1816. 

+United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 139. 

5 Letter from General Jackson to Secretary of War, June 10, 1816. 


ROYCE.) TREATY OF MARCH 22, 1816. 207 


All efforts were truitless in securing any further cession of lands, 
either north or south of the Tennessee.’ 

Previous to the visit of the Cherokee delegation to Washington and 
to the instructions given, as referred to above, to the boundary com- 
missioners to suspend the running of the boundary line between the 
Creek cession and the Cherokees pending negotiations with the latter, 
General Coffee had been engaged in surveying the line from Coosa River 
to the Tennessee River.2 As a result of the negotiations with the Chero- 
kees, additional instructions were given the boundary commissioners? 
(accompanying which was a copy of the Cherokee treaty concluded on 
the 22d of March preceding) to run and mark the boundary line therein 
agreed upon from the lower end of the Ten Islands, on Coosa River, to 
the Flat Rock, on Bear Creek. They were advised that the surveys 
already made by General Coffee might be of advantage to them, though 
from an examination of his report it did not appear he had taken any 
notice of the point at which this line was to terminate, notwithstanding 
he seemed to have had in view the treaty made with the Cherokees in 
the year 1806, which proposed Caney Creek and a line from its source 
to the Flat Rock as the boundary between the Cherokees and Chicka- 
Saws. Coffee's line had already excited the jealousy and opposition of 
the Chickasaws, and on the same day final instructions were given the 
commissioners to run the line from Coosa River to Flat Rock, Major 
Cocke, the Chickasaw agent, was directed to advise the Chickasaws that 
in agreeing upon this line with the Cherokees the United States had 
in no degree interfered with the conflicting claims ot the Chickasaws 
south of that line and east of Coffee’s line; that from an examination 
of the treaties with the Chickasaws and Cherokees, and especially that 
of 1786 with the former tribe, it appeared that a point called the Flat 
Rock was considered a corner of the lands belonging to them, and had 
since been considered as the corner to the Cherokee, Creek, and Chick- 
asaw hunting grounds. It is proper to state in this connection that for 
many years an uncertainty had existed in the minds of both the In- 
dians and the United States authorities as to the exact location of this 
Flat Rock,’ and whether it was on Bear Creek or on the headwaters of 
the Long Leaf Pine, a branch of the Black Warrior River. The line as 
finally run by the commissioners from Flat Rock, on Bear Creek, to Ten 
Islands, pursued a course bearing S. 67° 56/ 27 B..118 miles and 40 
perches.” It may be interesting also to quote from a letter® from Will- 





‘Letter from Secretary of War to United States Senators from Tennessee, April 4, 
1816. 

*See letter of Secretary of War to Barnett, Hawkins, and Gaines, April 16, 1816. 

* April 16, 1816. These boundary commissioners were William Barnett, Col. Benja- 
min Hawkins, and Maj. 1. P. Gaines. 

4 Letter of General Jackson to Secretary of War, June 10, 1816; also from Commis- 
sioner Barnett, June 7, 1816. 

° Old map on file in General Land Office. 

® June 7, 1816. 


208 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


iam Barnett, one of the United States boundary commissioners, to his 
co-commissioner, General Coffee, in which he states that he has just re- 
turned from the council at Turkeytown, at which the Cherokees, Choe- 
taws, Chickasaws, and Creeks were represented, and that the principal 
purpose of the council was to agree upon and adjust their several bound- 
aries. He notes the fact that the Creeks and Cherokees had agreed 
to make a joint stock of their lands, with a privilege to each nation to 
settle where they pleased. The Creeks and Choctaws had fixed on the 
ridge dividing the waters of the Black Warrior and the Cahawba as 
their former boundary. The Chickasaws and Cherokees could come to 
no understanding as to their divisional line, the former alleging that 
they had no knowledge of any lands held by the latter on the south 
side of the Tennessee River adjoining them; that they always consid. 
ered the lands so claimed by the Cherokees as belonging to the Creeks, 
and in support of this they had exhibited to him a number of affida- 
vits in proof that their line ran from the mouth of a small creek empty- 
ing into the Tennessee near Ditto’s Landing (opposite Chickasaw Isl- 
and), up the same to its source, thence to the head of the Sipsey Fork 
of the Black Warrior, and down the same to the Flat Rock, where the 
Black Warrior is 200 yards wide; that they had no knowledge of any 
place on Bear Creek known as Flat Rock, and that running the line to 
the last mentioned place would be taking from them a considerable tract 
of country, to which they could by no means consent.! 


ROADS THROUGH THE CHEROKEE COUNTRY. 


In order to secure a proper system of communication between the Ten- 
nessee and the Lower Alabama and Mississippi settlements, the United 
States had long desired the establishment of sufficient roads through the 
Indian country between those points. The Indians, however, were 
shrewd enough to perceive that the granting of such a permission 
would be but an entering wedge for splitting their country in twain, 
and afford excuse for the encroachments of white settlers. 





1 From a letter of Agent Meigs bearing date December 26, 1304, it seems that he was 
just in receipt of a communication from the Chickasaw chiefs relative to their claim 
to lands on the north side of Tennessee River. The chiefs assert that part of their peo- 
ple formerly lived at a place called Chickasaw Old Fields, on the Tennessee, about 20 
miles above the mouth of Elk River; that while living there they had a war with the 
Cherokees, when, finding themselves too much separated from their principal settle- 
ments, they removed back thereto. Afterwards, on making peace with the Cherokees, 
their boundaries were agreed on as they are defined in the instrument given them by 
President Washington in 1794. 

They further state that they had a war with the Shawnees and drove them from all 
the waters of the Tennessee and Duck Rivers, as well as conflictsswith the Cherokees, 
Choctaws, and Creeks, in which they defeated all attempts of their enemies to dis- 
possess them of their country. 

Agent Meigs remarks that he is convinced the claim of the Chickasaws is the best 
founded; that until recently the Cherokees had always alluded to the country in eon- 
troversy as the hunting ground of the four nations, and that their few settle- 
ments within this region were of recent date. 


ROXCE. | TREATY OF SEPTEMBER 14, 1816 209 


The establishment of new thoroughfares had therefore been regarded 
with extreme jealousy and had never been yielded to by them except 
after a persistency of urging that bordered on force. 

In the spring of 1811' Agent Meigs was advised by the Secretary of 
War of the expediency of having a road opened without delay from the 
Tennessee to the Tombigbee, and also one from Tellico. Both these prop- 
ositions would require the consent of the Creeks, and for the purpose of 
securing the most advantageous routes it was contemplated that Cap- 
tain Gaines should make a journey of exploration and survey of the 
country between the Alabama and Coosa Rivers on the south and Ten- 
nessee and Hiwassee Rivers on the north. The fruition of these plans 
was also postponed on account of the ensuing war with the Creeks, and 
the subject was not again broached until after their subjugation. In 
the spring of 1814 the legislature of Tennessee transmitted two me- 
morials to Congress on the subject, and, by direction of the Secretary of 
War, Agent Meigs was again instructed? to ascertain the bent of the 
Indian mind in relation thereto. The result was the conclusion, with 
the approval of the President, of two agreements between the Chero- 
kees and the agents of certain road companies for the opening of two 
roads through the country of the latter from Tennessee to Georgia. 
But when the treaty of March 22, 1816, came to be negotiated at Wash- 
ington, the United States authorities, after much persuasion, procured 
the insertion therein of an article conceding to the United States a 
practically free and unrestrained permission for the construction of any 
and all roads through the Cherokee country necessary to convenient in- 
tercourse between the northern and southern settlements. 


TREATY CONCLUDED SEPTEMBER 14, 1816; PRCCLAIMED DECEM- 
BER 30, 1816.% 


Held at Chickasaw Council House, beticcen Maj. Gen. Andrew Jackson, 
General David Merriwether, and Jesse Franklin, commissioners -pleni- 
potentiary on the part of the United States, and the delegates representing 
the Cherokee Nation. 


MATERIAL PROVISIONS. 


To perpetuate peace and friendship between the United States and 
the Cherokees and to remove all future dissensions concerning bound- 
aries it 1s agreed : 

1. Peace and friendship are established between the United States 
and Cherokees. 

2. The Cherokee Nation acknowledge the following as their western 
boundary : South of the Tennessee River, commencing at Camp Coffee, 





1 May 25. 

* April 7. 

‘United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 148. 
5 ETH——14 


210 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


on the south side of the Tennessee River, which is opposite the Chicka: 
saw Island; running from thence a due south course to the top of the 
dividing ridge between the waters of the Tennessee and Tombigby 

tivers; thence eastwardly along said ridge, leaving the headwaters of 
the Black Warrior to the right hand until opposed by the west branch 
of Wells’ Creek; down the east bank of said creek to the Coosa River, 
and down said river. 

3. The Cherokees cede all claim to land south and west of the above 
line In consideration for such cession the United States agree to pay 
an annuity of $6,000 for ten years and the sum of $5,000 within sixty 
days after ratification of the treaty. 

4. The boundary line above described, after due notice given to the 
Cherokees, shall be ascertained and marked by commissioners appointed 
by the President, accompanied by two representatives of the Cherokee 
Nation. 

5. The Cherokee Nation agree to meet the United States treaty com- 
missioners at Turkeytown, on Coosa River, September 28, 1816, to 
confirm or reject said tieaty ; a failure to so meet the commissioners 
to be equivalent to ratification. 

Ratified at Turkeytown by the whole Cherokee Nation, October 4, 
1816. 


HISTORICAL DATA. 
FURTHER PURCHASE OF CHEROKEE LANDS. 


On the 27th of May, 1816, theSecretary of War instructed Agent Meigs 
to endeavor, at the next session of the national council of the Cherokees, 
to obtain a cession of the Cherokee claim north of Tennessee River 
within the State of Tennessee. For this proposed cession he was au- 
thorized to pay $20,000, in one or more payments, and $5,000 in pres- 
ents; alsoto give Colonel Lowry, an influential chief among them, a sum 
equal to the value of his improvements.1 

He was further instructed to make an effort to secure the cession of 
the lands which they had declined to sell the previous winter and which 
lay to the west of a line drawn due south from that point of the Tennes- 
see River intersected by the eastern boundary of Madison County. Ala- 
bama. 

The necessity for these cessions, and especially that of the former 
tract, had been urged upon the Government of the United States by 
the legislature and by the citizens of Tennessee, many of whom had 
been purchasers of land within its limits, from the State of North Caro- 
lina, a quarter of a century previous, and who had been restrained 
from possession and occupancy of the same by the United States au- 
thorities so long as the Indian title remained unextinguished. In the 





ROYCE. ] TREATY OF SEPTEMBER 14, 1816. 211 


accede to the desired cessions, Agent Meigs was to urge that the Chero- 
kee delegation appointed to meet the boundary commissioners at the 
Chickasaw Council House on the 1st of September following should be 
invested with full authority for the conclusion of such adjustment of 
boundaries as might be determined on at that place. This authority 
was conditionally granted by the council,' and when the delegation 
came to meet the United States commissioners at the Chickasaw Coun- 
cil House, in the month of September, an agreement was made as to 
boundaries as set forth in the second article of the treaty of September 
14,1816. By this agreement the Cherokees ceded all claim west of a 
line from Camp Coffee to the Coosa River and south of a line from the 
latter point to Flat Rock, on Bear Creek.? The treaty was ratified by 
the nation in general council, at Turkeytown, on the 4th of October 
following.’ 

Alabama alleges error in survey.—W hen the due-south iine from Camp 
Coffee provided for in the treaty was surveyed, the surveyor, through 
an error in running it, deflected somewhat to the west. When the adja- 
cent country came to be surveyed and opened up to settlement much 
complaint was made, and the legislature of Alabama‘ passed a joint reso- 
lution reciting the fact that through this erroneous survey much valua- 
ble land had been left within the Cherokee limits which had properly 
been ceded to the United States and instructing Alabama’s delegation 
in Congress to take measures for having the line correctly run. The 
matter having been by Congress referred to the Secretary of War for 
investigation and report, the Commissioner of the General Land Office, 
at his request, reported® that when the public surveys were made in that 
section it was found that neither the line due south from Camp Coffee nor 
from the head of Caney Creek had been surveyed on a true meridian. 
Inasmuch, however, as they had been run and marked by commissioners 
appointed by the United States, the surveyors necessarily made the 
public surveys in conformity to them. By this deviation from the true 
meridian the United States and the State of Alabama had gained more 
land from the manner in which the Caney Creek or Chickasaw boundary 
line had been run than had been lost by the deviation in the Cherokee 
or Camp Coffee line, and the quantity in either case did not perhaps 
exceed six or eight thousand acres. 





‘Letter of Return J. Meigs to the Secretary of War, dated August 19, 1816. Ameri- 
can State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. II, p. 113. 

? Report of Commissioners Jackson, Merriwether, and Franklin to Secretary of War, 
dated Chickasaw Council House, September 20,1816. American State Papers, Indian 
Affairs, Vol. II, p. 104. 

3 Report of Commissioners Jackson and Merriwether to Secretary of War, October 4, 
1816. 

4 January 7, 1828. 
® February 25, 1828. 


212 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


TREATY CONCLUDED JULY 8, 1817; PROCLAIMED DECEMBER 26, 1817.) 


Held at Cherokee Agency, in the Cherokee Nation, between Maj. Gen. 
Andrew Jackson, Joseph McMinn, gorrrnor of Tennessee, and General 
David Merriwether, commissioners plenipotentiary of the United States, 
and the chiefs, headmen, and warriors of the Cherokee Nation east of 
the Mississippi River, and those on the Arkansas River, by their deputies, 
John D. Chisholm and James Rogers, duly authorized by written power 
of attorney. 

MATERIAL PROVISIONS. 


1. The whole Cherokee Nation cede to the United States all the lands 
lying north and east of the following boundaries, viz: Beginning 
at the High Shoals of the Appalachy River, and running thence along 
the boundary line between the Creek and Cherokee Nations westwardly 
to the Chatahouchy River; thence up the Chatahouchy River to the 
mouth of Souque Creek; thence continuing with the general course of 
the river until it reaches the Indian boundary line; and should it strike 
the Turrurar River, thence with its meanders down said river to its 
mouth, in part of the proportion of land in the Cherokee Nation east of 
the Mississippi to which those now on the Arkansas and those about to 
remove there are jusily entitled. 

‘2. The whole Cherokee Nation do also cede to the United States all 
the lands lying north and west of the following boundary lines, viz: 
Beginning at the Indian boundary line thaf runs from the north bank 
of the Tennessee River opposite to the mouth of Hywassee River, at a 
point on the top of Walden’s Ridge where it divides the waters of the 
Tennessee River from those of the Sequatchie River; thence along said 
ridge southwardly to the bank of the Tennessee River at a point near 
to a place called the Negro Sugar Camp, opposite to the upper end of 
the first island above Running Water Town; thence westwardly a 
straight line to the mouth of Little Sequatchie River; thence up said 
river to its main fork; thence up its northermost fork to its source ; and 
thence due west to the Indian boundary line. 

3. A census to be taken of the whole Cherokee Nation during June, 
1818. The enumeration of those east of the Mississippi River to be 
made by &@ commissioner appointed by the President of the United 
States and a commissioner appointed by the Cherokees residing on the 
Arkansas. That of those on the Arkansas by a United States commis- 
sioner and one appointed by the Cherokees east of the Mississippi. 

4, The annuities for 1818 and thereafter to be divided upon the basis 
of said census between Cherokees east of the Mississippi and those cn 
the Arkansas. The lands east of the Mississippi also to be divided, and 
the propor.ion of those moved and agreeing to remove to the Arkansas 
to be surrendered to the United States. 





' United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 156, 


ROYCE. | TREATY OF JULY 8, 1817. 213 


5. The United States agree to give to the removing Cherokees a tract 
of land onthe Arkansas and White Rivers equal in area to the quantity 
ceded the United States by first and second articles hereof. Said tract to 
begin on north side of the Arkansas River, at mouth of Point Remove, or 
Budwell’s Old Place; thence northwardly. by a straight line to strike Chat- 
aunga Mountain, the first hill above Shield’s Ferry, on White River, and 
running up and between said rivers for quantity. Said boundary from 
point of beginning to be surveyed, and all citizens of the United States 
except Mrs. P, Lovely to be removed therefrom. All previous treaties 
to remain in full force and to be binding on both parts of the Cherokee 
Nation. The United States reserves the right to establish factories, a 
mnilitary post, and roads within the boundaries last above defined. 

6. The United States agree to give all poor warriors who remove 
arifle, ammunition, blanket, and brass kettle or beaver trap each, as fall 
compensation for improvements left by them; to those whose improve- 
ments add real value to the land, the full value thereof, as ascertained 
by appraisal, shall be paid. The United States to furnish flat-bottomed 
boats and provisions on the Tennessee River for transportation of those 
removing. 

7. All valuable improvements made by Cherokees within the limits 
ceded to the United States by firstand second articles hereof shall be paid 
for by the United States or others of equal value left by removing Chero- 
kees given in lieu thereof. Improvements left by emigrant Cherokees 
not so exchanged shall be rented to the Indians, for the benefit of the 
poor and decrepit of the Eastern Cherokees. 

8. Each head of a Cherokee family residing on lands herein or here- 
after ceded to the United States who elects to become a citizen of 
the United States shall receive a reservation of 640 acres, to include 
his or herimprovements, for life, with reversion in fee simple to children, 
subject to widow’s dower. On remoyalof reservees their reservations 
shall revert to the United States. Lands reserved under this provision 
shall be deducted from the quantity ceded by first and second articles. 

9. All parties to the treaty shall have free navigation of all waters 
herein mentioned. 

10. The Cherokee Nation cedes to the United States all claim to 
reservations made to Doublehead and others by treaty of January 7, 
1806. 

11. Boundary lines of lands ceded to the United States by first and see- 
ond articles, and by the United States to the Cherokees in fifth article 
hereof, to be run and marked by a United States commissioner, to be 
accompanied by commissioners appointed by the Cherokees. 

12. Citizens of the United States are forbidden to enter upon lands 
herein ceded by the Cherokees until ratification and proclamation of 
this treaty. 

13. Treaty to be binding upon the assent and ratification of the Sen- 
ate and President of the United States. 


214 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


HISTORICAL DATA. 
POLICY OF REMOVING INDIAN TRIBES TO THE WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. 


In the settlement and colonization by civilized people of a country 
theretofore a wilderness, and inhabited only by savage tribes, many im- 
portant and controlling reasons exist why the occupaticn of such a 
country should be agcomplished by regular and gradual advances and 
in a more or less connected and compact manner. It was expedient 
that a united front should be presented by the earlier settlers of this 
continent, in order that the hostile raids and demonstrations of the In- 
dian warriors might be successfully resisted and repulsed. Therefore, 
the settlements were, as a rule, extended from the coast line toward the 
interior by regular steps, without the intermission of long distances of 
unoceupied territory. This seemed to be the policy anterior to the 

tevolution, and was announced in the proclamation of King George in 
1763 wherein he prohibited settlements being made on Indian lands or 
the purchase of the same by unauthorized persons. 

The first ordinances of Congress under the Articles of Confederation 
for disposing of the public lands were predicated upon the same theory. 
But after the close of the war for independence, circumstances arising 
out of the treaty of 1785 with Great Britain and the acquisition of Louis- 
jana from France imposed the necessity for a departure from the old 
system. Within the limits of the territory thus acquired sundry settle- 
ments had been made by the French people at points widely separated 
from one another and with many hundreds of miles of wilderness inter- 
vening between them and the English settlements on the Atlantic 
slope. The evils and inconveniences resulting from this irregular form 
of frontier were manifest. 

Settlements thus widely separated, or projecting in long, narrow col- 
umn far into the Indian country, manifestly increased in large ratio the 
causes of savage jealousy and hostility. Atthe same time the means of 
defense were rendered less certain and the expense and difficulty of 
adequately protecting such a frontier were largely enhanced. 

Such, however, was the condition and shape of our frontier settle- 
ments during the earlier years of the present century. Settlements on 
the Tennessee and Cumberland were cut off from communication with 
those of Georgia, Lower Alabama, and Mississippi by long stretches of 
territory inhabited or roamed over by the Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws, 
and Chickasaws. 

The French communities of Kaskaskia, Vincennes, and Detroit were 
similarly separated from the people of Virginia, Pennsylvania, and 
newly settled Ohio by the territory of the hostile Shawnees, Miamis, 
Wyandots, Pottawatomies, Ottawas, Kickapoos, et al. 

A cure for all this inconvenience and expense had been sought and 
given much consideration by the Government authorities. 


ROYCE, | TREATY: OF JULY 8, 1817. 215 


President Jefferson (as has been previously stated) had, as early as 
1803,' suggested the propriety of an exchange of lands by those tribes 
east of the Mississippi for an equal or greater area of territory within 
the newly acquired Louisiana purchase, and in 1809 had authorized a 
delegation of Cherokees to proceed to that country with a view to select- 
ing a suitable tract to which they might remove, and to which many of 
them did remove in the course of the years immediately succeeding.” 

The matter of a general exchange of lands, however, became the 
subject of Congressional consideration, and the Committee on Public 
Lands of the United States Senate reported * a resolution for an appro- 
priation to enable the President to negotiate treaties with the Indian 
tribes which should have for their object an exchange of territory owned 
by any tribe residing east of the Mississippi for other land west of that 
river. 

The committee expressed the opinion that the proposition contained 
in the foregoing resolution would be better calculated to remedy the in- 
convenience and remove the evils arising out of the existing condition of 
the frontier settlements than any other within the power of the Govern- 
ment. It was admitted, however, that this object could not be attained 
except by the voluntary consent of the several tribes interested, made 
manifest through duly negotiated treaties with them. 

The Senate was favorable to this proposition, but the House of Rep- 
resentatives interposed a negative upon the action taken by the former 
body.4 , 

Removal of Cherokees encouraged.—The subject had long been under 
consideration by the Cherokees, and no opportunity had been lost on 
the part of the executive authorities of the United States to encour- 
age a sentiment among them favorable to the removal scheme. Many 
individuals of the tribe had already emigrated, and on the 18th of Oeto- 
ber, 1816, General Andrew Jackson, in addressing the Secretary of War 
upon the subject of the recent Cherokee and Chickasaw treaties, 
suggested his belief that the Cherokees would shortly make a tender of 
their whole territory to the United States in exchange for lands on the 
Arkansas River. He further remarked that a council would soon be 
held by them at Willstown to select a proper delegation who should 
visit the country west of the Mississippi and examine and report upon 
its character and adaptability for their needs. In case this report 
should prove favorable, a Cherokee delegation would thereupon wait 
upon the President, with authority to agree upon satisfactory terms of 
exchange. To this the Secretary of War replied that whenever the 





' Confidential message of President Jefferson to Congress, January 18, 1803. 

? The letter of President Jefferson authorizing a delegation of Cherokees to visit the 
Arkansas and White River country was dated January 9, 1809, and will be found in 
the American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. II, p. 125, as well as among the records 
of the Indian Office. 

® January 9, 1817. 

‘Letter of Secretary of War to General Jackson, May 14, 1817. 


216 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


Cherokee Nation should be disposed to enter into an arrangement for 
an exchange of the lands occupied by them for lands on the west side 
of the Mississippi River and should appoint delegates clothed with 
full authority to negotiate a treaty for such exchange they would be 
received by the President and treated with on the most liberal terms. 

This state of feeling among the Cherokees had been considerably in- 
creased by the fact that those of their people who had already settled 
upon the Arkansas and White Rivers had become involved in territorial 
disputes of a most serious character with the Osages and Quapaws. 
The latter tribes claimed ownership of the lands upon which the former 
were settled Upon the Arkansas Cherokees laying their complaints 
before the United States authorities, they were informed that nothing 
could be done for their relief until the main body of the nation should 
take some definite action, in accordance with previous understanding, 
toward relinquishing a portion of their territory equal in area to the 
tract upon which the emigrant party had located.! 





FURTHER CESSION OF TERRITORY BY THE CHEROKEES. 


With a view to reaching a full understanding on this subject, the 
Secretary of War notified? General Andrew Jackson, Governor MeMinn- 
of Tennessee, and General David Merriwether that they had been ap- 
pointed commissioners for the purpose of holding a treaty with the 
Cherokees on or about the 20th of June, 1817.2. In pursuance of these 
instructions a conference was called and held at the Cherokee Agency, 
which resulted in the treaty of July 8,1817.4 By this treaty the Chero- 
kees ceded two large tracts of country in exchange for one of equal 
area on the Arkansas and White Rivers adjoining the territory of the 





1Tn a letter to Return J. Meigs, under date of September 18, 1816, the Secretary of War 
says that ‘the difficulties which have arisen between the Cherokees aud the Osages, 
on the north of the Arkansas, and with the Quapaws, on the south, cannot be finally 
settled until the line of the cession shall be run and the rights of the Quapaws shall 
be ascertained. Commissioners appointed by the President are now sitting at Saint 
Louis for the adjustment of those differences; but should the line of the Osage treaty 
prove that they are settled upon the Osage lands, nothing can be done for the Chero- 
kees. It is known to you and to that nation that the condition upon which the emi- 
gration was permitted by the President was that a cession of Cherokee lands should 
be made equal to the proportion which the emigrants should bear to the whole nation. 
This condition has neyer been complied with on the part of the nation, and of course 
all obligation on the part of the United States to secure the emigrants in their new 
possessions has ceased. When the subject was mentioned to the Cherokee deputation 
last winter, so far were they from acknowledging its force, that they declared the 
emigrants should be compelled to return.” 

2May 14, 1817. 

%On the 17th of May, 1817, these commissioners were advised that the lands pro- 
posed to be given the Cherokees on the west of the Mississippi River, in exchange for 
those then occupied by them, were the lands on the Arkansas and immediately ad- 
joining the Osage boundary line. 

4United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 156. 

5 These tracts are designated on the accompanying map as Nos. 23 and 24, 


ROYCE. ] TREATY OF JULY 8, 1817. PAIUe 


Osages. The Cherokees also ceded two small reservations made by the 
treaty of January 7, 1806.) 

The large cession by the first article of the treaty of 1817, though par- 
tially in Georgia, was at the time supposed to cover all the territory 
claimed by the Cherokees within the limits of North Carolina,? and 
was secured in deference to the urgent importunities of the legislature 
and people of that State. It was subsequently ascertained that this 
supposition was incorrect. 

Majority of Cherokees averse to removal.—During the conference, but 
before the negotiations had reached any definite result, a memorial was 
presented to the United States commissioners, signed by sixty-seven of 
the chiefs and headmen of the nation, setting forth that the delegation 
of their nation who in 1809 yisited Washington and discussed with 
President Jefferson the proposition for an exchange of lands had acted 
without any delegated authority on the subject. The memorialists 
claimed to represent the prevailing feeling of the nation and were de- 
sirous of remaining upon and retaining the country of their nativity. 
They were distressed with the alternative proposals to remove to the 
Arkansas country or remain and become citizens of the United States. 
While they had not attained asufficient degree of civilization to fit them 
for the duties of citizenship, they yet deprecated a return to the same 
savage state and surroundings which had characterized their mode of 
life when first brought in contact with the whites. They therefore re- 
quested that the subject should not be further pressed, but that they 
might be enabled to remain in peaceable possession of the land of their 
fathers.® 

The commissioners, however, proceeded with their negotiations, and 
conciuded the treaty as previously set forth, which was finally signed 
by twenty-two of the chiefs and headmen whose names appeared at- 
tached to the memorial, as well as six others, on behalf of the eastern 
portion of the nation, and by fifteen chiefs representing those on the 
Arkansas.t— The treaty was submitted to the Senate, for its advice and 
consent, at the ensuing session of Congress, and although it encountered 
the hostility of those Senators who were opposed to the general policy 
of an exchange of lands with the Indians, and of some who argued, be- 
eause of the few chiefs who had signed it, that it did not represent the 
full and free expression of their national assent,° that body approved 
its provisions, and the President ratified and proclaimed it on the 26th 
of December, 1817. 





1 These tracts are designated on the accompanying map as Nos. 25 and 26, 

2 August 1, 1817, the Secretary of War advised the governor of North Carolina that 
a treaty with the Cherokees had been concluded, by which the Indian claim was re- 
linquished to atract of country including the whole of the land claimed by them in 
North Carolina. 

*This memorial bore date of July 2, 1817. 

4United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VI, p. 156. 

5 Letter of Secretary of War to Treaty Commissioners August 1, 1817. 


218 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


A portion of the Cherokees emigrate west.—Immediately upon the sign- 
ing of the treaty, the United States authorities, presuming upon its final 
ratification, took measures for carrying into effect the scheme of emigra- 
tion. Within a month Agent Meigs reported that over 700 Cherokees 
had already enrolled themselves for removal the ensuing fall. 

The Secretary of War entered into a contract for 60 boats, to be de- 
livered by 1st of November at points between the mouths of the Lit- 
tle Tennessee and Sequatchie Rivers, together with rifles, ammunition, 
blankets, and provisions ;' and, under the control and directions of 
Governor MeMinn, of Tennessee, the stream of emigration began to flow, 
increasing in volume until within the next year over 3,000 had emigrated 
to their pew homes, which numbers had during the year 1819 increased 
to 6,000.7 

Persecution of those favorable to emigration.—There can be no question 
that avery large portion, and probably a majority, of the Cherokee 
Nation residing east of the Mississippi had been and still continued 
bitterly opposed to the terms of the treaty of 1817. They viewed with 
jealous and aching hearts all attempts to drive them from the homes of 
their ancestors, for they could not but consider the constant and urgent 
importunities of the Federal authorities in the light of an imperative de- 
mand for the cession of more territory. They felt that they were, as a 
nation, being slowly but surely compressed within the contracting coils 
of the giant anaconda of civilization; yet they held to the vain hope 
that a spirit of justice and merey would be born of their helpless con- 
dition which would finally prevail in their favor. Their traditions fur- 
nished them no guide by which to judge of the results certain to follow 
such a conflict as that in which they were engaged. 

This difference of sentiment in the nation upon a subject so vital 
to their welfare was productive of much bitterness and violent animosi- 
ties. Those who had favored the emigration scheme and had been in- 
duced, either through personal preference or by the subsidizing influences 
of the Government agents, to favor the conclusion of the treaty, became 
the object of scorn and hatred to the remainder of the nation. They 
were made the subjects of a persecution so relentless, while they re- 
mained in the eastern country, that it was never forgotten, and whee 





‘ Letters of Shots of War to General Jackson a Colonel vena eae 9: Ist. 
2 Letter of Governor McMinn to Secretary of War, November 29, 1818, and subse- 
quent correspondence during 1819. Goyernor MeMinn’s letter of November 29, 1818, 
states that 718 families had enrolled for emigration since December 20,1817, and 146 
families had taken reservations, which made in all, including those who had already 
emigrated, about one-half of the Cherokee Nation as committed to the support of the 
policy involved in tlre treaty of 1817. 

February 17,1819,a Cherokee delegation advised the Secretary of War that, while 
Governor MeMinn’s enrollment showed the number of Cherokees who had removed or 
enrolled to go prior to November 15, 1818, to be 5,291, by their calculation the 
number did not exceed 3,500, and that they estimated the number of Cherokees re- 
maining east of the Mississippi at about 12,544. 


ROYCE. J TREATY OF FEBRUARY 27, 1819. 219 


in the natural course of events, the remainder of the nation were forced 
to remove to the Arkansas country and join the earlier emigrants, the 
old hatreds and dissensions broke out afresh, and to this day they find 
lodgment in some degree in the breasts of their descendants. 

Dissatisfaction with the treaty of 1817.—The dissatisfaction with the 
treaty of 1817 took shape in the assemblage of a council at Amoha, in 
the Cherokee Nation, in September of the same year, at which six of 
the principal men were selected as a deputation to visit the President 
at Washington and present to him in person a detailed statement of 
the grievances and indignities to which they had been subjected in 
greater or less degree for many years and to ask relief and redress. 

They were to present, with special particularity, to the President's 
notice a statement of the improper methods and influences that had 
been used to secure the apparent consent of the nation to the treaty of 
1817. They were authorized to enter into a new treaty with the United 
States, in lieu of the recent one, in which an alteration might be made in 
certain articles of it, and some additional article inserted relative to 
the mode of payment of their annuity as between the Eastern and 
Arkansas Cherokees.! 

The delegation was received and interviews were accorded them by 
the President and Secretary of War, but they secured nothing but gen- 
eral expressions of good will and promises of protection in their rights 
and property. 


TREATY CONCLUDED FEBRUARY 27, 1819; PROCLAIMED MARCH 10, 
1819.7 


Held at Washington City, D. C., between John C. Calhoun, Secretary of 
War, specially authorized therefor by the President of the United States, 
and the chiefs and headmen of the Cherokee Nation of Indians. 


MATERIAL PROVISIONS. 


1. The Cherokee Nation cedes to the United States all of their lands 
lying north and east of the following line, viz: Beginning on the Ten- 
nessee River at the point where the Cherokee boundary with Madison 
County, in the Alabama Territory, joins the same ; thence along the 
main channel of said river to the mouth of the Highwassee; thence 
along its main channel to the first hill which closes in on said river, 
about two miles above Highwassee Old Town; thence along the ridge 
which divides the waters of the Highwassee and Little Tellico to the 
Tennessee River at Talassee; thence along the main channel to the 
junction of the-Cowee and Nanteyslee; thence along the ridge in the 








1 The instructions of the Amoha eel to ae cee of six bear. Satie of Fort- 
ville, Cherokee Nation, September 19, 1817. 
2United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 195. 


220 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


fork of said river to the top of the Blue Ridge; thence along the Blue 
Ridge to the Unicoy Turnpike Road; thence by straight line to the 
nearest main source of the Chestatee; thence along its main channel 
to the Chattahouchee; and thence to the Creek boundary; it being 
understood that all the islands in the Chestatee, and the parts of the 
Tennessee and Highwassee (with the exception of Jolly’s Island, in the 
Tennessee, near the mouth of the Highwassee) which constitute a por- 
tion of the present boundary, belong to the Cherokee Nation ; and it is 
also understood that the reservations contained in the second article of 
the treaty of Tellico, signed the twenty-fifth October, eighteen hundred 
and five, and a tract equal to twelve miles square, to be located by com- 
mencing at the point formed by the intersection of the boundary line 
of Madison County already mentioned and the north bank of the Ten- 
nessee River, thence along the said line and up the said river twelve 
miles, are ceded to the United States, in trust for the Cherokee Nation, 
as a school fund, to be sold by the United States, and the proceeds 
vested as is hereafter provided in the fourth article of this treaty; and 
also that the rights vested in the Unicoy Turnpike Company by the 
Cherokee Nation * * * are not to be affected by this treaty. 

The foregoing cessions are understood and declared to be in full sat- 
isfaction of all claims of the United States upon the Cherokees on ac- 
count of the cession to a part of their nation who have emigrated or who 
may emigrate to the Arkansas and as a final adjustment of the treaty 
of July 8, 1817. 

2. The United States agree to pay, according to the treaty of July 8, 
1817, for all valuable improvements on land within the country ceded 
by the Cherokees, and to allow a reservation of 640 acres to each head 
of a family (not enrolled for removal to Arkansas) who eleets to become 
a citizen of the United States. 

3. Each person named in a list accompanying the treaty shall have a 
reserve of 640 acres in fee simple, to include his improvements, upon 
giving notice within six months to the agent of his intention to reside 
permanently thereon. Various other reservations in fee simple are made 
to persons therein named. 

4, The reservations and 12-mile tract reserved for a school fund in 
the first article are to be sold by the United States and the proceeds 
invested in good stocks, the interest of which shall be expended in edu- 
cational benefits for the Cherokees east of the Mississippi. 

5. The boundary lines of the land ceded by the first article shall be 
established by commissioners appointed by the United States and the 
Cherokees. Leases made under the treaty of 1817 of land within the 
Cherokee country shall be void. All white people intruding upon the 
lands reserved by the Cherokees shall be removed by the United States, 
under the act of March 30, 1802. 

6. Annuities shall be distributed in the proportion of two-thirds to 
those east to one-third to those west of the Mississippi. Should the 


ROYCE. } TREATY OF FEBRUARY 27, 1819. 221 


latter object within one year to this proportion, a census shall be taken 
of both portions of the nation to adjust the matter. 

7. The United States shall prevent intrusion on the ceded lands prior 
to January 1, 1820. 

8. The treaty shall be binding upon its ratification. 


HISTORICAL DATA, 
CHEROKEES WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI— THEIR WANTS AND CONDITION. 


Early in 1818 a representative delegation from that portion of the 
Cherokees wko had removed to the Arkansas visited Washington with 
the view of reaching a more satisfactory understanding concerning the 
location and extent of their newly acquired homes in that region. As 
early as January 14 of that year, they had addressed a memorial to the 
Secretary of War asking, among other things, that the United States 
should recognize them as a separate and distinct people, clothed with 
the power to frame and administer their own laws, after the manner of 
their brethren east of the Mississippi. 

Long and patient hearings were accorded to this delegation by the 
authorities of the Government, and, predicated upon their requests, in- 
structions were issued! to Governor William Clark, superintendent of 
Indian affairs at Saint Louis, among other things, to secure a cessation of 
hostilities thenraging between the Arkansas Cherokees and the Osages; 
furthermore, to induce, if possible, the Shawnees and Delawares then 
residing in the neighborhood of Cape Girardeau to relinquish their land 
and join the Western Cherokees, or, in the event of a favorable termina- 
tion of the Quapaw treaty then pending, that they might be located on 
lands acquired from them. 

During the year the Arkansas Cherokees had also learned that the 
Oneidas of New York were desirous of obtaining a home in the West, 
and had made overtures for their settlement among them. The main 
object of the Cherokees in desiring to secure these originally eastern In- , 
dians for close neighbors is to be found in the increased strength they 
would be able to muster in sustaining their quarrel with their native 
western neighbors. 

It may be interesting in this connection to note the fact that in 1825 
the Cherokees sent a delegation to Wapakoneta, Ohio, accompanied by 
certain Western Shawnees, whose mission was to induce the Shawnees 
at that point to join them in the West. Governor Lewis Cass, under in- 
Structions from the War Department, held a council at Wapakoneta, 
lasting nine days,’ having in view the accomplishment of this end, but 
it was unsuccessful. 

Governor Clark was also advised by his instructions of the desire of 


1 May 8, 1818. 
*Secretary of War to Reuben Lewis, United States Indian agent, May 16, 1818. 
*May 16 to 24, inclusive. 


ee CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


the Cherokees to secure an indefinite outlet west, in order that they 
should not in the future, by the encroachments of the whites and the 
diminution of game, be deprived of uninterrupted access to the more 
remote haunts of the buffalo and other large game animals. He was 
instructed to do everything consistent with justice in the matter to fa- 
vor the Cherokees by securing from the Osages the concession of such 
a privilege, it being the object of the President that every favorable in- 
ducement should be held out to the Cherokees east of the Mississippi 
to remove and join their western brethren. This extension of their ter- 
ritory to the west was promised them by the President in the near fu- 
ture, and in the summer of 1819! the Secretary of War instructed 
Zeuben Lewis, United States Indian agent, to assure the Cherokees 
that the President, through the recent accession of territory from the 
Osages, was ready and willing to fulfill his promise. 

Survey of east boundary of Cherokees in Arkansas.—Provision having 
been made in the treaty of 1817? for a definition of the east line of the 
tract assigned the Cherokees on the Arkansas, Mr. Reuben Lewis, the 
Indian agent in that section, was designated, in the fall of 1818,° to run 
and mark the line, and upon its completion to cause to be removed, with- 
out delay, all white settlers living west thereof, with the single excep- 
tion mentioned in the treaty. 

These instructions to Mr. Lewis miscarried in the mails and did not 
reach him until the following summer. The line had in the mean time 
been run by General William Rector, under the authority of the Cominis- 
sioner of the General Land Office, which survey Mr. Lewis was author- 
ized to accept as the correct boundary provided the Cherokees were sat- 
isfied therewith. The field notes of this survey were certified by Gen- 
eral Rector April 14, 1819, and show the length of the line from Point 
Remove to White River to have been 71 miles.55 chains and the course 
N. 53° E> 

Treaty between Cherokees and Osages.—During this interval® Governor 
Clark had succeeded in securing the presence at Saint Louis of repre- 
sentative delegations of both the Osage and Western Cherokee tribes, 
between whom, after protracted negotiations, he succeeded in establish- 
ing the most peaceful and harmonious relations, which were evidenced 
by all the usual formalities of a treaty. 


DISPUTES AMONG CHEROKEES CONCERNING EMIGRATION. 


The unhappy differences of mind among the Cherokees east of the 
Mississippi on the subject of removal, which had been fast approaching 





1 July 22. 

>United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 156. 

>Letter of Secretary of War to Capt. William Bradford, September 9, 1818. 
‘Secretary of War to Agent Lewis, July 22, 1819. 

° Field notes and diagram on file in Indian Office. 

6 October 6, 1818. 


RoYcE.] TREATY OF FEBRUARY 27, 1819. 223 


a climax as a consequence of the treaty of 1817, had been rather stimu- 
lated than otherwise by the frequent departure of parties for their new 
western home, and the constant importunities of the United States 
and State officials (frequently bearing the semblance of threats) hav- 
ing in view the removal of the entire tribe. The many and open acts 
of violence practiced by the “home” as against the “emigration” party 
at length called forth! a vigorous letter of denunciation from the See- 
retary of War to Governor McMinn, the emigration superintendent. 
After detailing at much length the many advantages that would accrue 
to the Cherokee Nation by a removal beyond the contaminating influences 
always attendant upon the contact of a rude and barbarous people 
witha higher type of civilization, the unselfish and fatherly interest 
the Government of the United States had always manifested and still 
feltin the comfort and progress of the Cherokee people, and the great 
degree of liberality that had characterized its action in securing for the 
Cherokees in their new homes an indefinite outlet to the bountiful 
hunting grounds of the West, the Secretary concluded by an expression 
of the determination on the part of the United States to protect at all 
hazards from insult and injury to person or property cvery Cherokee 
who should express an opinion or take action favorable to the scheme 
of emigration. He also instructed Governor McMinn to lose no opportu- 
nity of impressing upon the minds of the Cherokees that the practical 
effect of a complete execution of the treaty of 1817 would be, as had been 
the intention of the Government when it was negotiated, to compel them 
either to remove to the Arkansas or to accept individual reservations 
and become citizens of the States within whose limits they respectively 
resided. 


PUBLIC SENTIMENT IN TENNESSEE AND GEORGIA CONCERNING CHEROKEE REMOVAL. 


Governor McMinn, being the executive of the State of Tennessee, 
could hardly be supposed to present the views of the Secretary of War 
to the Cherokees on the subject of their removal in milder terms or man- 
ner than they had been communicated to him. The public officer in that 
State who should have neglected such an opportunity of compelling the 
Cherokees to appreciate the benefits of a wholesale emigration to the 
West would have fared but ill at the polls in a contest for re-election. 
The people of both Tennessee and Georgia were unalterably deter- 
mined that the Indians should be removed from their States, and no com- 
promise or temporary expedient of delay would satisfy their demands. 

Millions of acres of valuable lands, rich in all the elements that com- 
bine to satisfy the necessities and the desires of the husbandman— 
mountain, valley, and plain— comprising every variety of soil, fertilized 
by innumerable running streams and clothed with heavy forests of the 
finest timber, were yet in the possession of the native tribes of this re- 





‘July 29,1818. 


224 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


gion, Other lands in great quantities, availab’'e for white settlement 
and occupation, both in Kentucky and the adjoining States, were, it is 
true, lying idle. In point of soil, water, and timber they were doubtless 
equal if not superior to the Indian possessions. But the idea was all- 
prevalent then as it is now in border communities, that, however attract- 
ive may be the surrounding districts of public lands open to the in- 
clination of anybody who desires to settle thereon, the prohibited do- 
main of aneighboring Indian reservation must of necessity surpass it, 
and no application of the principtes of reason, philosophy, or justice 
will serve to lessen the desire for its possession. Governor McMinn 
convened! a council of the Cherokees, at which he presented to them 
in the strongest light the benefits that would accrue to their nation in 
the increasing happiness, prosperity, and popuiation such as would at- 
tend their removal to the Arkansas, while, on the other hand, nothing 
but evil could follow their continued residence east of the Mississippi. - 
Their lands would be constantly encroached upon by white settlers; 
border desperadoes would steal their stock, corrupt their women, and 
besot their warriors. However anxious the Government might be to 
protect them in the uninterrupted enjoyment of their present possessions, 
it would, from the circumstances of the case, be utterly unable to do so. 
He therefore proposed to them that they should, as a unit, agree to re- 
move west of the Mississippi, and that the United States should pay 
them for their lands the sum of $100,000, in addition to all expenses of 
removal; which amount, upon their prompt and indignant refusal, he at 
once offered to double, but with as small measure of success. 

The treaty of 1817 had made provision for the taking of a census of 
the whole Cherokee people during the month of June of the following 
year. The census was to form the basis for an equitable distribution 
of the annuities and other benefits of which the Cherokee Nation was 
in receipt, between the portion who continued to abide in their eastern 
homes and those who had removed to the Arkansas country, in propor- 
tion to their respective numbers. Pending this enumeration no annu- 
ities had been paid them, which produced much annoyance aud dissat- 
isfaction among both parties. 

In consequence of the hostile and vindictive attitude manifested 
toward the emigrant party by the remainder of the nation and the 
many obstacles sought to be thrown in the path of removal, the au- 
thorities of the United States had hitherto refused to comply with the 
census provision of the treaty of 1817. Governor MeMinn, after the re- 
jection of both his purchase and his removal propositions, then proposed 
(in answer tothe demand of the Cherokee council that he should cause 
the census to be taken in the manner provided) that if they would pass 
a formal vote of censure upon such of their officers as he should name 
as having violated the treaty by the use of intimidating measures 
against the Arkansas emigrants, he would cause the work of taking 





‘November 13, 1818, 


ROYCE. ] TREATY OF FEBRUARY 27, 1819. 225 


the census to be at once begun. The council also declined to do this, 
adinitting that if such conduct had characterized any of their officers 
it was deserving of censure but denying that any proof of the charges 
had been submitted. They at last, however, as an evidence of their 
good disposition toward the United States, consented to the removal of 
one of the offensive officers named from his position as a member of the 
council, and the Secretary of War authorized! the taking of the census 
to be proceeded with. Governor MeMinn, in summing up the results of 
this council,? assumes that about one-half of the nation had already 
committed themselves to the policy outlined in the treaty of 1817, by 
the fact that since December 28 of that year 718 families had enrolled 
themselves for removal (aggregating, with those already removed, 5,291 
individuals), besides 146 families who had elected to take reservations 
in severalty. The lack of tangible results following this council was 
promptly reported to the Secretary of War by both Governor McMinn 
and Agent Meigs. The latter advised the authorities* that a fully 
authorized and representative delegation of the Cherokee Nation would 
shortly proceed to Washington, and that, in his judgment, the nation was 
rapidly becoming satisfied of their inability to long postpone what to 
every impartial observer must appear as inevitable—an exchange of 
their country for a location west of the Mississippi River. 

This delegation in due time‘ arrived at the capital, and a series of 
councils or interviews was at once entered upon between themselves 
and the Secretary of War, as representing the President. Many and 
just were the causes of complaint presented to the Secretary by the 
delegation. The recital of their wrongs, the deep affection manifested 
for their native hills and streams, and the superstitious dread with 
which they looked upon removal to a new country as being the deci- 
sive step in their dispersion and destruction as a people were caleu- 
lated to excite the sympathy of an unprejudiced mind. It had long 
been evident, however, that the simple minded barbarian was unable 
to cope with the intelligent and persistent demands of civilization, and 
that, with or without his consent, the advancing host of white settlers 
would ere many years be in full enjoyment of his present possessions. 


TREATY CONCLUDED FOR FURTHER CESSION OF LAND, 


After several preliminary discussions concerning the best method of 
adjusting their difficulties, the Secretary of War submitted to them,’ in 
writing, a statement of the basis upon which the United States would 
enter into a treaty with them, urging prompt action thereon, in order 
that the Senate might have time to exercise its constitutional fune- 
tions upon the same prior to its approaching adjournment. 

1 December 29, 1818. 
2 November 29, 1818. 
3 December 19, 1818. 
4February, 1819. 
5 February 11, 1819. 





5 ETH——15 


226 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


The salient points of this proposition were that the Cherokees should 
make a cession of land in proportion to the estimated number of their 
nation who had already removed or enrolled themselves for removal to 
the Arkansas; that the United States preferred the cession to be made 
in Tennessee and Georgia, and that in the latter State it should be as 
near and convenient to the existing white settlements as was pos- 
sible; that the reservation which the Cherokees had expressed a desire 
to make for the benefit of a proposed school fund should be located 
within the limits of Alabama Territory, inasmuch as the cession to be 
made in Georgia would, under the provisions of the act of Congress of 
1802, belong to that State, and the lands covering the proposed cession 
in Tennessee would be subject to location by North Carolina military 
land warrants. Neither was such school reservation to constitute any 
portion of the land which the Cherokees were to cede in conformity to 
the principle of exchange embodied in the first paragraph. The United 
States would continue to extend its protection to both branches of the 
Cherokee people, but those remaining east of the Mississippi, having 
expressed a desire that the lands retained by them should be absolutely 
guaranteed from any danger of future cession, were informed that in 
order to secure such guarantee it was indispensable that the cessions 
they were about to make should be ample, and that the portion of terri- 
tory reserved by them should not be larger than was essential to their 
wants and convenience. The Secretary reminded them that should a 
larger quantity be retained it would not be possible, by any stipulation 
in the treaty, to prevent future cessions; that so long as they retained 
more land than was necessary or convenient for themselves they would 
feel inclined to sell and the United States to purchase. He commented 
on the fact that they were rapidly becoming like the white people, and 
could not longer live by hunting, but must work for their subsistence. 
In their new condition of life far less land would be essential to their 
happiness. Their great object should be to hold their land by severalty 
titles and to gradually adopt the manners and laws of life which pre- 
vailed among their white neighbors. It was only thus that they could 
be prosperous and happy, and neglect to accept and profit by the situa- 
tion would inevitably result in their removal or extinction. 

The question as to the area of territory that should be ceded as the 
equitable proportion of the Arkansas Cherokees formed the subject of 
much dispute. The Eastern Cherokees denied the accuracy of the 
emigration roll of Governor McMinn, and asserted that, instead of 5,291 
emigrants, as stated by him, there had actually been not exceeding 
3,500, while the non-emigrant portion of the nation they gave as num- 
bering 12,544, or more than three-fourths of the entire community.! 

It being impossible to reconcile these radical differences of esti- 
mate and the Indians becoming wearied and discouraged with the per- 
sistent importunities of the United States officials, they consented to the 





! Cherokee delegation to Secretary of War, February 17, 1819. 


e 
ROYCE.] TREATY OF FEBRUARY 27, 1819. repat | 


cession of those tracts of country naively described in the treaty of 
February 27, 1819,' as ‘at least as extensive” as that to which the United 
States was entitled under the principles and provisions of the treaty 
of 1817. These cessions were made, as recited in the preamble to the 
treaty, as the commencement of those measures necessary to the civil- 
ization and preservation of their nation, and in order that the treaty 
of July 8, 1817, might, without further delay or the trouble or expense 
of taking the census therein provided for, be finally adjusted. It was 
also agreed that the distribution of annuities should be made in the 
proportion of two to one in favor of the Eastern Cherokees (it being 
assumed that about one-third of the nation had gone west), with the 
proviso that if the Arkansas Cherokees should offer formal objection 
to this ratio within one year after the ratification of the treaty, then a 
census, solely for the purpose of making a fair distribution of the an- 
nuity, should be taken at such time and in such manner as the Presi- 
dent of the United States should designate. All leases of any portion 
of the territory reserved to the Cherokees were declared void, and the 
removal of all intruders upon their lands was promised, to which latter 
end an order was issued requiring such removal to take place on or 
before July 1, 1819. 

Thus was concluded the treaty of February 27, 1819, which was 
promptly and favorably acted upon by the Senate and ratified and pro- 
claimed by the President on the 10th of March following. The gist of 
such provisions of importance as are not detailed in these historical notes 
will be found by reference to the abstract preceding them. 

Immediately upon the approval of the treaty by the Senate, the See- 
retary of War notified Governor McMinn? of the fact, directing him to 
give no further encouragement to emigration to the Arkansas, but to 
proceed at once to wind up the business under the treaty of 1817. 

Survey of boundaries.—Preparations were at once made for surveying 
and marking the lines of the cessions. Hon. Wilson Lumpkin, who was 
engaged in running the line between East Florida and the State of Geor- 
gia, was directed® to suspend that work, and designated to survey the 
line of cession, commencing at the point where the Unicoi Turnpike 
crossed the Blue Ridge, and thence to the nearest main source of the 
Chestatee, and also to lay off the individual reservations that should be 
selected within the State of Georgia. 

The following day * Robert Houston was appointed to run the line of 
the cession within the State of Tennessee, commencing on the High- 
wassee River about 2 miles above Highwassee Old Town, as well as to 
survey the individual reservations within that State, and also the tracts 
reserved in North Carolina and Alabama Territory. 

Mr. Houston performed his services as a surveyor to the satisfaction 





' United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 195. 
2 March 6, 1819. 

3 March 11, 1819. 

4 March 12, 1819. 


228 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


of all parties; but in running the line from the Unicoi Turnpike cross- 
ing of the Blue Ridge to the nearest main source of the Chestatee, a dis- 
pute arose between Mr. Lumpkin and the Cherokees as to which was 
the nearest main source of that river, the Frogtown or the Tessentee 
Fork. The surveyor ran the line to the source of the first named fork, 
while the Indians insisted that the latter was the proper stream, and 
demanded a re-examination of the survey. Agent Meigs having, how- 
ever, reported? in favor of the correctness of the survey, it was allowed 
to stand.* 
STATUS OF CERTAIN CHEROKEES. 


Early in the year 1820+ complaints began to arise as to the status of 
those Cherokees who had made their election to remove to the Arkansas 
country but had subsequently concluded to remain east. These, it was 
stated, numbered 817, and they found themselves placed in rather an 
anomalous situation. Their proportion of the Cherokee national do- 
main had been ceded to the United States by the treaties of 1817 and 
1819 Their share of annuities was being paid, under the treaty of 1819, 
to the Cherokees of the Arkansas. Their right to individual reserva- 
tions under either treaty was denied, and they were not even allowed 
to vote, hold office, or participate in any of the affairs of the nation. 

In this condition they soon became an element of much irritation in 
the body politic of the tribe. The Cherokee authorities urged that they 
should be furnished with rations and transportation to their brethren 
in the West, whither they were now willing to remove, but the Secre- 
tary of War instructed Agent Meigs® that emigration to the Arkansas 
under the patronage of the Government had ceased, and that those 
Cherokees who had enrolled themselves for removal but had not yet 
gone, as well as all others thereafter determining to go, must do so at 
their own expense. 





1Mr. Houston began his survey at the point where the first hill closes in on Hiwas- 

see River, which he found to be 24 miles above Hiwassee Old Town. He alsostates in 
his report that he found no ridge dividing the waters of Hiwassee from those of Lit- 
tle River, This line from the Hiwassee River to the Tennessee River at Talassee was 
46 miles and 300 poles in length. It was begun May 28 and completed June 12, 1819. 
The line from the junction of Cowee and Nauteyalee Rivers to the Blue Ridge was be- 
gun June 12 and completed June 18, 1819, and was 36 miles long. His report, with 
accompanying map, was communicated to the Secretary of War with letter dated July 
30, 1819. A copy of the field notes may be found in American State Papers, Indian 
Affairs, Vo'. II, pp. 192 and 193. 

2July 24, 1820. 

® Secretary of War to Agent Meigs, August 14, 1820. 

4February 9. See letter of Return J. Meigs to Secretary of War. 

5 June 15, 1820. 


ROYCE. ] TREATY OF MAY 6, 1828. 229 


TREATY CONCLUDED MAY 6, 1828—PROCLAIMED MAY 28, 1528.' 


Held at Washington City, D. C., between James Barbour, Secretary of 
War, specially authorized therefor by the President of the United States, 
and the chiefs and headmen of the Cherokee Nation west of the Missis- 
sippi. 

MATERIAL PROVISIONS. 


The preamble recites the desire of the United States to secure to the 
Cherokees, both east and west of the Mississippi, a permanent home, 
“that shall never in all future time be embarrassed by having extended 
around it the lines or placed over it the jurisdiction of a Territory or 
State, nor be pressed upon by the extension in any way of any of the 
limits of any existing Territory or State.” 

It also assumes that their actual surroundings, both east and west of 
such river, were unadapted to the accomplishment of such a purpose, 
and therefore the following articles of agreement were made: 

1. The western boundary of Arkansas shall be * * * viz: A line 
shall be run commencing on Red River at the point where the Eastern 
Choctaw line strikes said river, and run due north with said line to the 
river Arkansas; thence in a direct line to the southwest corner of Mis- 
souri. 

2. The United States agree to possess the Cherokees, and to guaran- 
tee it to them forever, * * * of seven million of acres of land, to be 
bounded as follows, viz: Commencing at that point on Arkansas River 
where the eastern Choctaw boundary lines strikes said river, and run- 
ning thence with the western line of Arkansas, as defined in the fore- 
going article, to the southwest corner of Missouri, and thence with the 
western boundary line of Missouri till it crosses the waters of Neasho, 
generally called Grand River; thence due west to a point from which a 
due-south course will strike the present northwest corner of Arkansas 
Territory; thence continuing due south on and with the present western 
boundary line of the Territory to the main branch of Arkansas River; 
thence down said river to its junction with the Canadian River, and 
thence up and between the said rivers Arkansas and Canadian to a 
point at which a line running north and south from river to river will 
give the aforesaid seven million of acres. 

In addition to the seven millions of acres thus provided for and 
bounded, the United States guarantee to the Cherokee Nation a per- 
petual outlet west, and a free and unmolested use of all the country 
lying west of the western boundary of the above described limits and 
as far west as the sovereignty of the United States and their right of 
soil extend. 

3. The United States agree to survey the lines of the above cession 





‘United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 311. 


230 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS 


without delay, and to remove all white settlers and other objectionable 
people living to the west of the east boundary of the Cherokee tract. 

4. The United States agree to appraise and pay the value of all Chero- 
kee improvements abandoned by the latter in their removal; also to 
sell the property and improvements connected with the agency, for the 
erection of a grist and saw mill in their new home. 

5. The United States agree to pay the Cherokees $50,000 as the dif- 
ference in value between their old and their new lands; also an annu- 
ity for three years of $2,000 to repay cost and trouble of going after 
and recovering stray stock; also $8,760 in full for spoliations com- 
mitted on them by the Osages or citizens of the United States; also 
$1,200 for losses sustained by Thomas Graves, a Cherokee chief; also 
$500 to George Guess, the discoverer of the Cherokee alphabet, as well 
as the right to occupy a saline; also an annuity of $2,000 for ten years 
to be expended in the education of Cherokee children; also $1,000 for 
the purchase of printing press and type; also, the benevolent society 
engaged in instructing Cherokee children to be allowéd the amount ex- 
pended by it in erection of buildings and improvements; also, the United 
States to release the indebtedness of the Cherokees to the United States 
factory to an amount not exceeding $3,500. 

6. The United States agree to furnish the Cherokees, when they de- 
sire it, a system of plain laws and to survey their lands for individual 
allotment. 

7. The Cherokees agree within fourteen months to leave the lands in 
Arkansas assigned them by treaties of January 8, 1817, and February 
27, 1819. 

8. Bach head of a Cherokee family east of the Mississippi desiring to 
remove to the country described in the second article hereof to be fur- 
nished by the United States with a good rifle, a blanket, a kettle, five 
pounds of tobacco, and compensated for all improvements he may 
abandon; also a blanket to each member of his family. The United 
States to pay expenses of removal and to furnish subsistence for one 
year thereafter. Each head of family taking with him four persons to 
receive $50, 

9. The United States to have a reservation 2 by 6 miles at Fort Gib- 
son, with the right to construct a road leading to and from the same. 

10. Capt. James Rogers to have $500 for property lost and services 
rendered to the United States. 

11. Treaty to be binding when ratified. 

Nore.—The Senate consented to the ratification of this treaty with 
the proviso that the “western outlet” should not extend north of 36°, 
nor to interfere with lands assigned or to be assigned to the Creeks; 
neither should anything in the treaty be construed to assign to the 
Cherokees any lands previously assigned to any other tribe. 


ROYCE. ] TREATY OF MAY 6, 1828. 231 


HISTORICAL DATA, 
RETURN J. MEIGS AND THE CHEROKEES, 


Return J. Meigs had for nearly twenty years! occupied the position of 
United States agent for the Cherokee Nation. As asoldier of the Revo- 
lutionary war he had marched with Arnold through the forests of 
Maine and Canada to the attack on Quebee in 1775.” 

He had also, by his faithful. intelligent, and honest administration of 
the duties of his office as Indian agent, secured the perfect confidence of 
his official superiors through all the mutations of administration. He 
had acquired a knowledge of and familiarity with the habits, character, 
and wants of the Cherokees such as was perhaps possessed by few, if 
indeed by any other man. 

Any suggestions, therefore, that he might make concerning the solu- 
tion of the Cherokee problem were deserving of grave consideration. 
His views were submitted in detail upon the condition, prospects, and 
requirements of the Cherokee Nation in a communication to the Secre- 
tary of War.’ To his mind the time had arrived when a radical change 
in the policy of managing their affairs had become essential. Ever 
since the treaty of 1791 the United States, in pursuance of a policy 
therein outlined for leading the Cherokees toward the attainment of a 
higher degree of civilization, in becoming herdsmen and cultivators in- 
stead of hunters, had been furnishing each year a supply of implements 
for husbandry and domestic use. In consequence a respectable propor- 
tion of that nation had become familiarized with the use of the plow, 
spade, and hoe. Many of their women had learned the art of spinning 





‘Meigs was appointed, May 15, 1801, superintendent of Indian affairs for the Cher- 
okee Nation and agent for the War Department in the State of Tennessee. 

? Letter of Meigs to General Wilkinson, dated Marietta, Ohio, February 10, 1801. 
This letter isin reply to one received from General Wilkinson, in which the latter, 
among other things, inquires if he can in any way serve the former. Meigs replies: 
“J will answer these kind inquiries truly. In the first place, I enjoy excellent health; 
in the next place, I am doing what I can at farming business, endeavoring to main- 
tain a credible existence by industry. I have been for more than two years one of the 
Territorial legislators; this, though credible, is not profitable. My principal depend- 
ence for living is on the labor of my own hands. I am confident, sir, you can serve me, 
as you are conversant with every department of the Government and may know 
what places can be had and whether I am capable of being usefully employed. I don’t 
care what it is, whether civil or military or where situated, provided it be an object 
which you shall think proper for me. I don’t know Mr. Jefferson; have always 
revered his character as a great and good man. I am personally acquainted with 
Colonel Burr. He ascended the river Kennebeck as a volunteer in the year 1775 and 
was with me in the Mess a great part of that march to Canada. I think I have his 
friendship, but he is not yet, perhaps, in a situation to assist me.” Colonel Meigs was 
also a member of the court-martial convened for the trial of General Arthur St. Clair 
for the evacuation of Ticonderoga. He died at his post of duty in February, 1823, as 
shown by a letter to the Secretary of War from ex-Governor McMinn, dated the 22d 
of that month, 

> May 30, 1820. 


232 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


and weaving, and in individual instances considerable progress had been 
made in the accumulation of property. Agent Meigs now thought that 
the point had been reached where the Cherokee people should begin to 
fight their own battles of life, and that any further contributions to their 
support, either in the shape of provisions or tools, would have only a 
tendency to render them more dependent upon the Government and 
less competent to take care of themselves. Those who were already 
advanced in the arts of civilized life should be the tutors of the more 
ignorant. They possessed a territory of perhaps 10,000,000 acres of 
land, principally in the States of Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennes- 
see, for the occupation of which they could enumerate little more than 
10,000 souls or 2,000 families. If they were to become an agricultural 
and pastoral people, an assignment of 640 acres of land to each family 
would be all and more than they could occupy with advantage to them- 
selves. Such an allotment would consume but 1,250,000 acres, leaving 
more than 8,000,000 acres of surplus land which might and ought to be 
sold for their benefit, and the proceeds (which he estimated at $300,000, 
to be paid in fifty annual installments) applied to their needs in the 
erection of houses, fences, and the clearing and breaking up of their 
land for cultivation. The authority and laws of the several States within 
whose limits they resided should become operative upon them, and they 
should be vested with the rights, privileges, and immunities of citizens of 
those States. These views met with the concurrence of the administra- 
tion, and would possibly have been carried into effect but for the intense 
hostility thereto of not only the unprogressive element among the Cher- 
okees themselves but of the efficials and people of the States most in- 
terested, who could not view with complacency the permanent occupa- 
tion of a single acre of land within their limits by the aboriginal owners. 


TENNESSEE DENIES THE VALIDITY OF CHEROKEE RESERVATIONS. 


About this time trouble arose between the authorities of the State of 
Tennessee and the surveyor (Robert Houston) who had been intrusted 
with the duty of laying off such individual reservations as should be 
taken under the provisions of the treaties of 1817 and 1819. Mr. 
Houston reported to the Secretary of War that the legislature of Ten- 
nessee had refused to confirm all such reservations taken in virtue of 
the provisions of those treaties subsequent to the Ist of July, 1818, or, 
in other words, after the time provided for taking the Cherokee census 
had expired, and desired the opinion and instructions of the Department 
thereon. The question involved in this dispute was deemed of suffi- 
cient importance to secure an official opinion from the Attorney-Gen- 
eral prior to directing any further action.!. An opinion was rendered? 
by Attorney-General Wirt, the substance of which was that the right 
of taking these reservations having been in the first instance given by 








1 Letter of Secretary of War to Attorney-General, July, 26, 1820. 
> August 12, 1820. 


ROYCE. ] TREATY OF MAY 6, 1828. 233 


the treaty of 1817 until the census should be taken, and the time for 
taking the census having been, by the acquiescence of both parties to 
the treaty, kept open until the conclusion of the treaty of February 27, 
1819, all the reservations taken prior to this latter date were legal, 
more especially as they had been ratified by the recognition of them 
contained in the treaty of 1819. Furthermore, the second article of that 
treaty, taken in connection with the seventh article, continued the 
period for taking reservations until the Ist of January, 1820. Mr. Hous- 
ton was instructed! to preceed to lay off the reservations in consonance 
with this opinion, notwithstanding which the authorities of Tennessee 
took issue therewith and passed a law providing for the sale of the 
disputed reserves, whereupon the War Department instructed 2 Agent 
Meigs to cause one or two test cases to be prepared for trial in the 
courts. 

Whiie on the subject of these reservations it is pertinent to remark 
that by act of March 3, 1823, Congress appropriated $50,000 to be ex- 
pended in extinguishing the Indian title to such individual fee simple 
reservations as were made within the limits of Georgia by the Chero- 
kee treaties of 1817 and 1819 and by the Creek treaties of 1814 and 
1821. James Merriwether and Duncan G. Campbell were appointed as 
commissioners to carry the same into effect. Twenty-two thousand dol- 
lars were also appropriated May 9, 1828, to reimburse the State of North 
Carolina for the amount expended by her authorities in extinguishing 
Cherokee reservation titles in that State under the treaties of 1817 and 
1819. 


UNITED STATES AGREE TO EXTINGUISH INDIAN TITLE IN GEORGIA. 


By an agreement between the United States and the State of Geor- 
gia bearing date April 24, 1802,° Georgia ceded to the United States 
all the lands lying south of Tennessee and west of Chattahoochee River 
and a line drawn from the mouth of Uchee Creek direct to Nickojack, 
on the Tennessee River. In consideration of this cession the United 
States agreed to pay Georgia $1,250,000, and to extinguish the Indian 
title whenever the same could be done on peaceable and reasonable 
terms; also to assume the burden of what were known as the Yazoo 
claims. 

Georgia charges the United States with bad faith.—LEver since the date 
of this agreement the utmost impatience had been manifested by the 
Government and the people of the State of Georgia at the deliberate and 
careful course which had characterized the action of the General Goy- 
ernment in securing relinquishment of their lands in that State from 
the Creeks and Cherokees. Charges of bad faith on the part of the 
United States, coupled with threats of taking the matter into their own 








‘ August 14, 1820. 
® March 7, 1821. 
% American State Papers, Public Lands, Vol. I, p. 1%5. 


234 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


hands, had been published in great profusion by the Georgians. These 
served only to enhance the difficulties of the situation and to excite a 
stubborn resistance in the minds of the Indians against any further 
cessions of territory. 

Report of Congressional committee—The subject was brought to the 
attention of Congress through the action of the governor and legislature 
of Georgia. A select committee was appointed by the House of Rep- 
resentatives, at the first session of the Seventeenth Congress, to take the 
matter into consideration and to report whether the said articles of 
agreement between that State and the United States had so far been 
executed according to the terms thereof, and what were the best means 
of completing the execution of the same. This committee submitted a 
report to the House,! wherein, after reciting the terms of the agreement, 
allusion is made to the Creek treaty of 1814, and the opinion expressed 
that the agreement might have been more satisfactorily complied with 
by demanding the cession at that treaty of the Creek lands within 
Georgia’s limits, instead of accepting in large measure those within the 
Territory of Alabama. The Indians were by this action forced, in the 
opinion of the committee, within the limits of Georgia, instead of being 
withdrawn therefrom. 

Respecting the Cherokee treaty of July 8, 1817, the committee say 
that some time previous to its conclusion the Cherokees had represented 
to the President that their upper and lower towns wished to separate ; 
that the Upper Cherokees desired to be confined to a smaller section of 
country and to engage in the pursuits of agriculture and civilized life; 
that the Lower Cherokees preferred continuing the hunter’s life, and, 
owing to the scarcity of game in their own country, proposed to ex- 
change it for land on the west of the Mississippi River; that to carry 
into effect-these wishes of the Indians the treaty of 1817 was held, and 
the United States then had it in their power to have so far complied 
with their contract with Georgia as to have extinguished the title of 
the Cherokees to most of their lands within the limits of that State; 
that this could readily have been done, for the reason that the Up- 
per Cherokees resided beyond the boundaries of Georgia, and had ex- 
pressed a desire to retain lands on the Hiwassee River, in Tennessee, 
whilst the Lower Cherokees, who were desirous ‘of emigrating west, 
mostly resided in the former State. But, in spite of this opportunity, 
the United States had purchased an inconsiderable tract of country in 
Georgia and a very considerable one in Tennessee, apparently in op- 
position to the wishes of the Indians, the interests of Georgia, and of 
good faith in themselves. By this treaty the United States had also 
granted a reservation of 640 acres to each head of an Indian family 
who should elect to remain on the eastern side of the Mississippi. This 
the committee viewed as an attempt on the part of the United States 
to grant lands in fee simple within the limits of Georgia in direct 





1January 7, 1822. 


ROYCE.] TREATY OF MAY 6, 1828. 235 


violation of the rights of that State. The provision permitting Chero- 
kees to become citizens of the United States was also characterized as 
an unwarrantable disregard of the rights of Congress. It was further 
asserted that by the treaty of 1819 the United States had shown a dis- 
position and determination to permanently fix the Cherokee Indians 
upon the soil of Georgia, and thereby render it impossible to comply 
with their contract with that State. Yet another feature of this treaty 
too objectionable to be overlooked was the agreement of the United 
States that 12 miles square of land ceded by the Indians should be dis- 
posed of and the proceeds invested for the establishment of a school 
tand for those Indians. In conclusion the committee suggested that in 
order to a proper execution of the agreement with Georgia it would be 
necessary for the United States to relinquish the policy they had ap- 
parently adopted with regard to civilizing the Indians and keeping 
them permanently on their lands, at least in respect to the Creeks and 
Cherokees, and that appropriations should be made from time to time 
sufficiently large to enable the Government to hold treaties with those 
Indians for the extinguishment of their title. 

Commissioners appointed to negotiate a new treaty.—Stimulated by the 
sentiments so strongly expressed in this report of a committee of the 
House of Representatives, the executive authorities determined to make 
another effort to secure a further cession of territory from the Cherokees. 

Accordingly the President appointed! General John Floyd, Maj. 
Freeman Walker, and Hon. J. A. Cuthbert, allof Georgia, commissioners 
to negotiate a treaty with that nation, and advised them of his earnest 
desire that a cession should be secured from the Indians such as would 
prove satisfactory to that State. Messrs. Walker and Cuthbert declined 
their appointments, and Duncan G. Campbell and General David Merri- 
wether were appointed? in their places. General Merriwether dying 
shortly after, was succeeded by Maj. James Merriwether, whom it had 
been the original intention to appoint, but for whose name that of 
General Merriwether had been inserted in the primary appointment 
through mistake. Before any active steps had been taken toward the 
performance of the duties assigned the commission, General Floyd re- 
signed,’ and the President determined to allow the remaining two 
members to constitute the full commission. Their appointment was 
submitted to and approved* by the Senate, and in the transmission 
of their new commissions by the Secretary of War perseverance and 
judicious management were enjoined upon them as essential to success 
in their negotiations. It would seem that all their perseverance was 
needed, for the commissioners were unable to secure even an interview 
with the Cherokee authorities until a date and place had been desig- 
nated for the fourth time. 





1June 15, 1822. 

2 August 24, 1822. 

3 November 19, 1822. 
4March 17, 1823. 


236 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


Death of Agent Meigs —About this time! Agent Meigs, who since 1801 
had represented the Government with the Cherokees, died, and ex-Goy- 
ernor McMinn, of Tennessee, was appointed? to succeed him. 

Failure to conclude proposed treaty.—The treaty commissioners finally 
met the council of the Cherokee Nation at Newtown, their capital, on 
the 4th of October, 1825.5 They were also accompanied by Johnson 
Wellborn and James Blair, who had been appointed by the governor 
of Georgia as commissioners to advance the interests and protect the 
rights of that State. The negotiations were all conducted in writing, 
and form an interesting chapter in the history of the methods used 
throughout a long series of years to secure from the Cherokees, by ‘“ vol- 
untary, peaceful, and reasonable means,” the relinquishment of their 
ancestral territory. The commissioners set forth their desire to procure 
the cession of a tract of country comprising all to which the Cherokees 
laid claim lying north and east of a line to begin at a marked corner 
at the head of Chestatee River, thence along the ridge to the mouth of 
Long Swamp Creek, thence down the Etowah River to the line to be 
run between Alabama and Georgia, thence with that line to the divid- 
ing line between the Creeks and Cherokees, and thence with the latter 
line to the Chattahoochee. In consideration of this proposed cession, 
the commissioners agreed that the United States should pay the sum 
of $200,000 and also indemnify the nation against the Georgia depre- 
dation claims, as well as the further sum of $10,000 to be paid imme- 
diately upon the signing of the treaty. 

To this proposition, in spite of the threatening language used by the 
commissioners, the Indians invariably and repeatedly returned the an- 
swer, “ We beg leave to present this communication as a positive and 
unchangeable refusal to dispose of one foot more of land.”* 

The commissioners, seeing the futility of further negotiations, ad- 
journed sine die,® and a report of their proceedings was made by Com- 
missioner Campbell thirty days later, Major Merriwether having in the 
mean time resigned. 

Cherokees ask protection against Georgia’s demands.—Shortly following 
these attempted negotiations, which had produced in the minds of the 
Indians a feeling of grave uneasiness and uncertainty, a delegation of 
Cherokees repaired to Washington for a conference with the President 
touching the situation. Upon receiving their credentials, the Secretary 
of War sounded the key-note of the Government’s purpose by asking 
if they had come authorized by their nation to treat for a further relin- 
quishment of territory. To this pointed inquiry the delegation re- 
turned a respectful and earnest memorial,® urging that their nation 





' February, 1823. 

2 March 17, 1823. 

’ Report of commissioners on file in Office Indian Affairs. 

4 See correspondence between commissioners and Cherokee council. American State 
Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. II, pp. 465-473. 

> October 23, 1823. 

' January 19, 1824. This memorial is signed by John Ross, George Lowrey, Major 
Ridge, and Elijah Hicks, as the Cherokee delegation. 


ROYCE. ] TREATY OF MAY 6, 1828. 237 


Jabored under a peculiar inconvenience from the repeated appropriations 
made by Congress for the purpose of holding treaties with them hav- 
ing in view the further purchase of lands. Such action had resulted in 
much injury to the improvement of the nation in the arts of civilized 
life by unsettling the minds and prospects of its citizens. Their nation 
had reached the decisive and unalterable conclusion to cede no more 
lands, the limits preserved to them by the treaty of 1819 being not more 
than adequate to their comfort and convenience. It was represented 
as a gratifying truth that the Cherokees were rapidly increasing in 
number, rendering it a duty incumbent upon the nation to preserve, 
unimpaired to posterity, the lands of their ancestors. They therefore 
implored the interposition of the President with Congress in behalf of 
their nation, so that provision might be made by law to authorize an 
adjustment between the United States and the State of Georgia, releas- 
ing the former from its compact with the latter so far as it respected 
the extinguishment of the Cherokee title to land within the chartered 
limits of that State. 

The response! of the Secretary of War to this memorial was a reitera- 
tion of the terms of the compact with Georgia and of the zealous desire 
of the President to carry out in full measure the obligations of that com- 
pact. The manifest benefits and many happy results that would inure 
to the Cherokee Nation from an exchange of their country for one be- 
yond the limits of any State and far removed from the annoying en- 
croachments of civilization were pictured in the most attractive colors, 
but all to no purpose, the Cherokees only maintaining with more marked 
emphasis their original determination to part with no more land. See- 
ing the futility of further negotiations, the Secretary of War addressed ” 
a communication to the governor of Georgia advising him of the earnest 
efforts that had been made to secure further concessions from the Cher- 
okees and of the discouraging results, and inviting an expression of 
opinion from him upon the subject. 

Governor Troup’s threatening demands.—Governor Troup lost no time 
in responding to this invitation by submitting * a declaration of views 
on behalf of the government and people of the State of Georgia, the 
vigorously aggressive tone of which.in some measure perhaps compen- 
sated for its lack of logical force. After censuring the General Govern- 
ment for the tardiness and weakness that had characterized its action 
on this subject throughout a series of years and denying that the Indians 
were anything but mere tenants at will, he laid down the proposition 
that Georgia was determined at all hazards to become possessed of the 
Cherokee domain; that if the Indians persisted in their refusal to 
yield, the consequences would be that the United States must either 
assist the Georgians in occupying the country which is their own and 





' January 30, 1824. 
2 February 17, 1824. 
3 February 28, 1824. 


238 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


which is unjustly withheld from them, or, in resisting the occupation, 
to make war upon and shed the blood of brothers and friends. He fur- 
ther declared that the proposition to permit the Cherokees to reserve a 
portion of their land within that State for their future home could not 
be legitimately entertained by the General Government except with the 
consent of Georgia; that such consent would never be given; and, fur- 
ther that the suggestion of the incorporation of the Indians into the 
body politie of that State as citizens was neither desirable nor practica- 
ble. The conclusion of this remarkable state paper is characterized by 
a broadly implied threat that Georgia’s fealty to the Union would be 
proportioned to the vigor and alertness with which measures were 
adopted and earried into effect by the United States for the extinguish- 
ment of the Cherokee title. 

Response of President Monroe.—These criticisms by the executive of 
Georgia, which were sanctioned and in large measure reiterated by the 
legislature and by the Congressional delegation of that State,! called 
forth? from President Monroe a message to Congress upon the subject 
in defense of the course that had been pursued by the executive authorities 
of the United States. Accompanying this message was a report® from 
John ©. Calhoun, Secretary of War, wherein it is alleged that at the 
date of the compact of 1802 between the United States and Georgia 
the two Indian nations living within the limits of that State (the Creeks 
and the Cherokees) were respectively in possession of 19,578,890 and 
7,152,110 acres of territory. At the date of such compact, treaties existed 
between the United States and those tribes defining the limits of their 
territories. In fulfillment of the stipulation with Georgia, seven treaties 
had been held with them, five of which were with the Creeks and two with 
the Cherokees. The lands thus acquired from the former in Georgia 
amounted to 14,449,480 acres and from the latter to 995,310 acres. In 
acquiring these cessions for the State of Georgia the United States had 
expended $958,945.90, to which should be added the value of the 995,310 
acres given by the Cherokees in exchange for lands west of the Mis- 
sissippi, the estimated value of which, at the minimum price of public 
lands, would amount to $1,244,137.50. The United States had also (in 
addition to $1,250,000 paid to Georgia as apart of the original consider- 
ation) paid to the Yazoo claimants, under the same compact, $4,282,- 
151.12, making in the aggregate $7,735,243.52, which sum did not in- 
clude any portion of the expense of the Creek war, whereby upwards of 
7,000,000 acres were acquired for the State of Georgia.* 


1 Letter of Georgia delegation to Congress, March 10, 1824. Memorial of Georgia 
legislature to Congress, December 18, 1823. 

2? March 30, 1824. 

3March 29, 1824. 

4This Creek war was in large measure, if not wholly, superinduced by the nnlaw- 
ful and unjust aggressions by citizens of that State upon the rights and territory of 
the Creeks. Foreign emissaries, however, it is true, encouraged and inflamed the just 
indignation of the Creeks against the Georgians to the point of armed resistance. 





ROYCE. TREATY OF MAY 6, 1828. 239 


The President expressed it as his opinion that the Indian title was 
not in the slightest degree affected by the compact with Georgia, and 
that there was no obligation resting on the United States to remove the 
Indians by force, in the face of the stipulation that it should be done 
peaceably and on reasonable conditions. The compact gave a claim to 
the State which ought to be executed in all its conditions with good 
faith. In doing this, however, it was the duty of the United States to 
regard its strict import, and to make no sacrifice of their interest not 
called for by the compact, nor to commit any breach of right or ln- 
manity toward the Indians repugnant to the judgment and revolting to 
the feelings of the whole American people. The Cherokee agent, Ex- 
Governor MeMinn, was shortly afterward ordered,! “ without delay and 
in the most effectual manner, forthwith to expel white intruders from 
Cherokee lands.” 

Alarm of the Cherokees and indignation of Georgia.—The views ex- 
pressed by the governor and legislature of Georgia upon this subject 
were the cause of much alarm among the Cherokees, who, through their 
delegation, appealed? to the magnanimity of the American Congress for 
justice and for the protection of the rights, liberties, and lives of the 
Cherokee people. On the other hand, the doctrines enunciated in Presi- 
dent Monroe’s special message, quoted above, again aroused the indig- 
nation of the governor of Georgia, who, ina communication® to the Presi- 
dent, commented with much severity upon the bad faith that for twenty 
years had characterized the conduct of the executive officers of the 
United States in their treatment of the matter in dispute. 

Message of President John Quincy Adams.—Every day but added ac- 
rimonious intensity to the feelings of the officials and people of Georgia. 
Their determination to at once possess both the Creek and the Chero- 
kee territory within her chartered limits would admit of no delay or com- 
promise. Tollowing the Creek treaty of 1826, her surveyors were 
promptly and forcibly introduced into the ceded country, in spite of an 
express provision of the treaty forbidding such action prior to the 1st 
of January, 1827. So critical was the state of affairs considered to be 
that President John Quincy Adams invited the attention of Congress 
to the subject in a special message.*| Therein the President declared 
that if ought not to be disguised that the act of the legislature of Geor- 
gia, under the construction given to it by the governor of that State, 
and the surveys made or attempted -by his authority beyond the bound 
ary secured by the treaty of 1826 to the Creek Indians, were in direct 
violation of the supreme law of the land, set forth in a treaty which had 
received all the sanctions provided by the Constitution; that happily 
distributed as the sovereign powers of the people of this Union had 
been between their general and State governments, their history had 
already too often presented collisions between these divided author- 


' May 3, 1824. 3 April 24, 1824. 
2 April 16, 1824. 4February 5, 1827. 





240 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


ities with regard to the extent of their respective powers. No other 
case had, however, happened in which the application of military 
force by the Government of the Union had been suggested for the en- 
forcement of a law the violation of which had within any single State 
been prescribed by a legislative act of that State. In the present in- 
stance it was his duty to say that if the legislative and executive au- 
thorities of the State of Georgia should persevere in acts of encroach- 
ment upon the territories secured by a solemn treaty to the Indians 
and the laws of the Union remained unaltered, a superadded obligation, 
even higher than that of human authority, would compel the Executive 
of the United States to enforce the laws and fulfill the duties of the na- 
tion by all the force committed for that purpose to his charge. 


CHEROKEE PROGRESS IN CIVILIZATION. 


Notwithstanding the many difficulties that had beset their paths and 
the condition of uncertainty and suspense which had surrounded their 
affairs for years, the Cherokees seem to have continued steadily in their 
progress toward civilization. 

The Rev. David Brown, who in the fall of 1825 made an extended 
tour of observation through their nation, submitted, in December! of 
that year, for the information of the War Department, an extended and 
detailed report of his examination, from which it appeared that number- 
less herds of cattle grazed upon their extensive plains; horses were 
numerous; many and extensive flocks of sheep, goats, and swine cov- 
ered the hills and valleys; the climate was delicious and healthy and 
the winters were mild; the soil of the valleys and plains was rich, and 
was utilized in the production of corn, tobacco, cotton, wheat, oats, in- 
digo, and potatoes; considerable trade was carried on with the neighbor- 
ing States, much cotton being exported in boats of their own to New Or- 
leans; apple and peach orchards were quite common; much attention 
was paid to the cultivation of gardens; butter aud cheese of their own 
manufacture were seen upon many of their tables; public roads were 
numerous in the nation and supplied at convenient distances with 
houses of entertainment kept by the natives; many and _ flourish- 
ing villages dotted the country; cotton and woolen cloths were manu- 
factured by the women and home-made blankets were very common; 
almost every family grew suflicient cotton for its own consumption; 
industry and commercial enterprise were extending themselves through- 
out the nation; nearly all the merchants were native Cherokees; the 
population was rapidly increasing, a census just taken showing 15,563 
native citizens, 147 white men and 73 white women who had inter- 
married with the Cherokees, and 1,277 slaves; schools were increasing 
every year, and indolence was strongly discountenanced ; the nation had 
no debt, and therevenue was in a flourishing condition; a printing press 
was soon to be established, and a national library and museum were in 
contemplation. 


1 Letter of Rey. David Brown to Thomas L. McKenney, December 12, 1825. 





noYcE.] TREATY OF MAY 6, 1828. 241 
FAILURE OF NEGOTIATIONS FOR FURTHER CESSION OF LANDS. 


On the 2d of March, 1827,! Congress passed an act authorizing the 
President to open negotiations with the Cherokees forthe extinguishment 
of their title to such lands as were claimed by them within the limits of 
the State of North Carolina, and also for such quantity of land as should 
be necessary in the building of a canal to connect the Hiwassee and 
Canasauga Rivers. 

Ten thousand dollars were appropriated to defray the expenses of 
such negotiations, and Generals John Cocke, G. L. Davidson, and Alex- 
ander Grey were? appointed commissioners to conduct the same. Their 
negotiations were barren of results, as were also those of Maj. F. W. 
Armstrong, who in the following year’ was dispatched on a similar 
mission. 

THE CHEROKEE NATION ADOPTS A CONSTITUTION. 


At a general convention of delegates, ‘duly authorized for that pur- 
pose,” held at New Echota, in the Cherokee Nation, July 26, 1827, a 
constitution was adopted for the nation, predicated upon their assumed 
sovereignty and independence as one of the distinct nations of the 
earth. Such aninstrument could not fail of exciting to the highest pitch 
the feelings and animosity of the authorities and people of Georgia. 

Georgia's opinion of the Indian title—Governor Forsyth inclosed* a 
copy of the “‘presumptuous” document to the President, at the same 
time desiring to know what the United States proposed to do about the 
‘erection of a separate government within the limits of a sovereign 
State.” 

He also inclosed the report of a committee and the resolutions of the 
legislature of Georgia predicated thereon as exhibiting the sentiments 
of that body on the subject. This committee, in reporting to the legis- 
lature the results of their investigations, assert that anterior to the Rey- 
olutionary war the Cherokee lands in Georgia belonged to Great Brit- 
ain, and that the right as to both domain and empire was complete and 
perfect in that nation. The possession by the Indians was permissive. 
They were under the protection of Great Britain. Their title was tem- 
porary, being mere tenants at will, and such tenancy might have been de- 
termined at any moment either by force or by negotiation, at the pleasure 
of that power. Upon the close of the Revolution, Georgia assumed all 
the rights and powers in relation to the lands and Indians in question 
previously belonging to Great Britain, and had not since divested her- 
self of any right or power in relation to such lands, further than she had 
in respect of all the balance of her territory. She was now at full lib- 
erty and had the power and the right to possess herself, by any means she 
might choose, of the lands in dispute, and to extend over them her au- 





‘United States Statutes at Large, Vol. IV. 217. 3 June 4, 1828. 
2 March 13, 1227. ‘January 26, 1828. 
5 ETH 16 





242 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


thority and laws. Although possessing this right, she was averse to 
exercising it until all other means of redress had failed. She now made 
one other and last appeal to the General Government to open negotia- 
tions with the Cherokees on this subject. If no such negotiation should 
be opened, or if, being opened, it should result unsuccessfully, it was rec- 
ommended to the next legislature of Georgia to take immediate posses- 
sion of the disputed territory and to extend her jurisdiction and laws 
over the same. In a spirit of liberality, however, it was suggested that, 
in any treaty the United States might make with the Cherokees, Geor- 
gia would agree to allow reserves to be made to individual Indians not 
exceeding in the aggregate one-sixth part of the entire territory in dis- 
pute. Should the Indians still refuse to negotiate, they were solemnly 
warned of the unfortunate consequences likely to follow, as the lands 
belonged to Georgia, and that she must and would have them. 

A resolution of the House of Representatives of the United States, in 
the month of March following, calling upon the President for informa- 
tion upon the subject, brought forth! copies of all the correspondence 
relative to the matter, and the distinct avowal that the records of the 
United States failed to show any act of executive recognition of the 
new form of Cherokee government, but that, on the contrary, their 
status toward the United States was regarded as not in the slightest 
degree changed. 


CHEROKEE AFFAIRS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 


Whilst all these events having a bearing upon the condition and 
prospective welfare of that portion of the Cherokee people who had 
remained in their old homes east of the Mississippi River were happen- 
ing, those who had taken up their abodein the Arkansas country were 
likewise having their troubles. 

Difficulties with the Osages.—Their disagreements with the Osages, 
which had, with slight intermission, existed for years, broke out afresh 
when in February, 1820, a party of Osages robbed and killed three 
Cherokees. The latter determined upon the prosecution of a general 
war against the aggressors, and were only persuaded to pause at the 
earnest solicitation? of Governor Miller, of Arkansas Territory, until he 
could visit the villages of the Csages and demand the surrender of the 
murderers. In company with four of the Cherokee chiefs, he proceeded 
to the principal Osage village, where they were kindly received by the 
Osages, who repudiated the action of the murderers and agreed con- 
ditionally to surrender them. They, however, produced the treaty con- 
cluded in 1818, under the superintendence of Governor Clark, between 
themselves and the Cherokees, Shawnees, and Delawares, wherein it 
was agreed that a permanent peace should thenceforth exist between 
them, and that the Cherokees were to meet them at Fort Smith the 








1March 20, 1828. 2 April 20, 1820. 


novcr.] TREATY OF MAY 6, 1828. 243 


following spring and surrender all Osage prisoners, which the former 
had neglected to do and still retained a number of Osage captives. 
The Cherokee chiefs admitted that this was true, whereupon Governor 
Miller advised them that before the Osage murderers could be surren- 
dered, the Cherokees must comply with their agreement by surrendering 
all prisoners in their hands. An arrangement was made to meet at Fort 
Smith in October following and effect the exchange,! which was done. 
Notwithstanding this adjustment, the feeling of hostility between the 
two tribes remained. Active warfare broke out again in the summer 
of 1521,° and was not suppressed by the most strenuous efforts of the 
United States authorities until the fall of the following year.’ 
Boundaries and area.—Governor Miller reported, in connection with 
this subject, that the Arkansas Cherokees were very restless and dis- 
satisfied. They complained much in that, as they said, no part of the 
treaty of 1819 had been complied with by the United States and in that 
they had received no annuity money since their removal to the west of 
the Mississippi River. Furthermore, their boundaries had not been es- 
tablished, and they still awaited the fulfillment of the promise made them 
for an extension of their line to the west as far as the Osage line. To 
this latter scheme the Osages were much opposed, preferring rather to 
have the country occupied by whites. The adjustment of this boundary 
question would seem to have been very desirable, inasmuch as nearly 
one-half of the Cherokees had taken up their abode south of the Arkan- 
sas River,‘ which was clearly outside of their proper limits. It formed 
the subject of much correspondence and complaint throughout several 
years, and was the occasion of a number of visits of representative dele- 
gations from the Arkansas Cherokees to Washington. The eastern 
boundary had, as already stated, been run by General Rector in 181819, 
but the difficulty in fixing the western line arose from the fact that the 
quantity of land to which the Cherokees were entitled was to be meas- 
ured by the area already ceded by them to the United States by the 
treaties of 1817 and 1819. The ascertainment of this latter quantity 
with exactness could not be made in adyarce of the completion of the 
surveys thereof by the States of North Carolina, Tennessee, and Geor- 
gia. From such reports and estimates as the United States were able 
to secure from the several State authorities, it was estimated, early in 
1823,° that the quantity to which the Cherokees were entitled was about 
3,285,710 acres, and they were informed that measures would at once 
be taken to have the western boundary established. This was performed 


‘Letter of Governor Miller, of Arkansas, to Secretary of War, June 20, 1820. 

* Letter of Secretary of War to Maj. William Bradford, July 21, 1821. 

* Letter of Secretary of War to Governor Miller, of Arkansas, November 6, 1822. 

* October 8, 1821, Governor Miller was instructed by the Secretary of War toremove 
the Cherokees from lands south of the Arkansas, but its execution was deferred several 
years pending the establishment of the Cherokee boundaries. 

* Secretary of War to Arkansas Cherokee delegation in Washington, February 12, 
1823. 





244 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


under direction of Governor Miller,in compliance with instructions 
given him for that purpose on the 4th of March, 1823. A year later! 
a delegation of the Indians visited Washington to complain that the 
boundary had beenrun without notice to them and in such a manner as 
to be highly prejudicial to their interests. It was also urged that the 
quantity of land included was largely less than the quantity ceded by 
the Cherokees east of the Mississippi. 

It would seem that in the survey of this western boundary Governor 
Miller, through a misconception of his instructions, had caused the 
line to be run due north and south, instead of in a direction parallel 
with that of the east line, as was the evident intention of the treaty of 
1817.2. The effect of this action was to largely curtail the Cherokee 
frontage on Arkausas River, where the Jands were rich and capable 
of remunerative cultivation, and to extend their fiontier on the Upper 
White River, toward the rough and comparatively valueless region of 
the Ozark Mountains. It was also admitted by the Secretary of War 
that the quantity of land within these boundaries was probably less 
than that to which the Cherokees were entitled.’ Inquiries were ac- 
cordingly again made of the several State authorities as to the area of 
territory acquired by them through the treaties of 1817 and 1819, 
the replies to which, though partially estimated, aggregated 4,252,216 
acres.t Directions were therefore given to Agent Duval® to propose to 
the Indians the running of a provisional line, subject to such future 
alterations as the official returns of the quantity ceded in the States 
should render necessary and proper. It seems, however, from a report 
of Agent Duval, that the Cherokees in council had expressed to him a 
preference to adopt for their western boundary what was known as the 
“upper” or Governor. Miller line, and to run thence down and between 
the Arkansas and White Rivers for quantity, ignoring the line run 
under the treaty of 1817 by General Rector, the effect of which would 
be to give them an extension of territory to the east instead of toward 
the west. This proposition called forth directions from the Secretary 
of War to Governor Izard, in the spring of 1825, to open negotiations 
with the Cherokees upon the subject of an exchange of territory with 
them for an equal quantity of land lying to the west of Arkansas and 
Missouri, and for their removal thereto, but that the matter must not 
be pressed to the point of irritation. If, through the aversion of the 
Indians to entertain such a proposition, it should be dropped, then, if 
the same should be satisfactory to the citizens of Arkansas, the proposal 





1 March 3, 1824. 
2 Indian Office to Cherokee delegation of Arkansas, March 13, 1824, and Secretary 
of War to Governor Crittenden, of Arkansas, April 28, 1824. 

3 Secretary of War to Governor Crittenden, of Arkansas, April 28, 1624. 

4 Indian Office to Agent E. W. Duval, Little Rock, Arkansas, July 8, 1824. 

> July 8, 1824. 


ROYCE. ] TREATY OF MAY 6, 1828. 245 


contained in the report of Agent Duval would meet the views of the 
Government.! 

The Indians were brought to no definite agreement to either of these 
propositions. In the meantime their provisional western boundary was 
established and run, in January and February, 1825.2. The line began 
at the upper end of Table Rock Bluff, on the Arkansas River, and ran 
north 1 mile and 70 chains, crossing Skin Bayou at a distance of 66 
chains from the beginning; thence it ran north 53° east 132 miles and 
31 chains, to White River, which it struck at a point opposite the mouth 
of Little North Fork. 

As a matter of fact, so strong was the prejudice of the Cherokees 
against any concession of territory that their council passed® what 
they denominated a “perpetual law” denouncing the death penalty 
against any of their nation who should propose the sale or exchange of 
their lands. 

Lovely’s purchase.—In the mean time the legislature of Arkansas, 
through Acting Governor Crittenden, had forwarded to the President 
in the summer of 1824, a memorial urging that the tract of country 
known as ‘* Lovely’s purchase” be thrown open to white settlement by 
a revocation of the prohibitory order of December 15, 1818. This the 
President declined to do until a final adjustment should be made of the 
west boundary-of the Cherokees and the east boundary of the Choe- 
taws. <A history of * Lovely’s purchase” is to be found in a letter dated 
January 30, 1818, from Major Long, of the Topographical Engineers, to 
General Thomas A. Smith. From this it seems that by a treaty then 
recently made (but without any authority) with the Osages, “by Mr. 
Lovely, late Indian agent,”* that tribe had ceded to the United States 
the country between the Arkansas and Red Rivers, and also a tract on 
the north of the Arkansas situated between the Verdigris River and 
the boundary established by the Osage treaty of 1808. It appears, 
however, that it was not the intention of the Osages to cede to the 
United States so large a tract on the north of the Arkansas, but, as 





' Secretary of War to Governor Izard, of Arkansas, April 16, 1825. 

*See map on file in Indian Office. 

5May, 1825. 

‘In a letter from Agent Meigs to the Secretary of War, dated June 2, 1817, Major 
Lovely is spoken of as having been agent residing with the Cherokees on the Arkan- 
sas. He had heen an officer of the Virginia line throughout the Revolution and par- 
ticipated in the capture of Burgoyne. He had lived some time in the family of 
President Madison’s father, and went to Tennessee at an early day, whence (after 
living many years among the Cherokees) he removed with the emigrant party to the 
Arkansas. In a letter to the Hon. John Cocke from the Secretary of War, December 
15, 1826, it is, however, stated that Major Lovely was a factor or trader in the Arkan- 
sas country, who took an active part in the preliminary negotiations that led finally 
to the conclusion of the treaty with the Osages of September 25, 1818. It also ap- 
pears from the same letter that the estimated area of Lovely’s purchase was 7,392,000 
acres, and that when the west boundary line of the Cherokees was run, in 1825, it was 
found that 200 square miles of Lovely’s purchase were included within its limits. 


246 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


afterwards alleged by their chiefs, they only desired to surrender the 
country lying south of a line commencing at the Falls of the Verdigris 
and running due east to the treaty line of 1808, and east of another 
line beginning at the same place and running due south as far as their 
possessions should extend, and thence east again to the 1808 boundary, 
excepting and reserving therefrom the point of land between the Ver- 
digris and Six Bulls or Grand River. The Osages, never having been 
informed that the treaty was not duly authorized and had not been con- 
firmed, still considered the country described therein as belonging to 
the United States, and had repeatedly solicited whites to settle on it, 
alleging that the main object of the cession on their part was to secure 
the convenient approach of civilized neighbors, who should instruct the 
men how to cultivate the ground and the women to spin and weave, that 
they might be able to live when the forests should afford no further 
supplies of game. They were therefore much irritated when they 
found civilized settlements prohibited, in order to protect the introduce. 
tion and establishment adjoining or upon this territory of their inveter- 
ate enemies, the Cherokees. 

Western outlet. —The indefinite outlet to the west which had been 
promised the Cherokees by the President in 1818 formed the subject 
of much complaint by them from time to time. In the spring of 1823! 
they were advised that until their western boundary was established 
it would be improper to make any decision upon the “outlet” question. 
Two years earlier? it had been declared to them that in removing settlers 
from ‘“ Lovely’s Purchase,” for the purpose of giving them their western 
outlet, it must always be understood that they thereby acquired no 
right to the soil, and that the Government reserved to itself the right 
of making such disposition as it might think proper of all salt springs 
therein. But this troublous question was definitively disposed of when 
the treaty of 1825 came to be negotiated. 

By the provisions of an act of Congress approved April 5, 1826,° the 
land districts of the Territory of Arkansas were extended so as to in- 
clude all the country within the limits of that Territory as then existing 
(the limits having been extended 40 miles to the west by act of Con- 
gress of May 26, 1824),* with the proviso, however, that nothing in the 
act should be so construed as to authorize any survey or interference 
whatever upon any lands the right whereof resided in any Indian 
tribes. Notwithstanding this proviso, reports became current that sur- 
veys had been begun of ‘“ Lovely’s Purchase,” causing much irritation 
and ill feeling among the Cherokees and eliciting an order® from the 
Secretary of War forbidding any further surveys until it should be 





1 Secretary of War to Arkansas Cherokee delegation in Washington, February 12, 
1823. 

* Secretary of War to Arkansas Cherokee delegation in Washington, October 8, 
1821. 

5 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. IV, p. 153. 

* United States Statutes at Large, Vol. IV, p. 40. 

5 April 3, 1827. 


ROYCE. ] TREATY OF MAY 6, 1828. 247 


finally ascertained how much land the Cherokees were entitled to receive 
from the United States in pursuance of the treaties of 1817 and 1819. 

Negotiation and conclusion of treaty of 1828.—Matters remained thus in 
statu quo until the spring of 1828, when a delegation of the Western 
Cherokees arrived in Washington, clothed with authority to present to 
the attention of the President their numerous grievances and to adjust 
all matters in dispute for their people. The burden of their complaints 
had relation to the delays that had occurred in fixing their boundaries; 
to the failure to secure to them the promised ‘“‘ western outlet;” to the 
adjustment of the hostilities that continued to exist between themselves 
and the Osages; and to the irregularity in the receipt of their annuities, 
as well as to the encroachments of white settlers.! 

The delegation were not clothed with authority to negotiate for any 
cession or exchange of territory, the ‘‘ perpetual law ” against entertain- 
ing such a proposition being stillin force among them. Notwithstand- 
ing this fact, a communication was addressed to them from the War 
Department? desiring to be advised if they had any objection to open- 
ing negotiations upon a basis of an exchange of land for territory west 
of the west boundary of Arkansas, provided that boundary should be 
removed a distance of 40 miles to the east, so as to run from Fort 
Smith to the southwest corner of the State of Missouri, and also that 
the Creeks should be removed from their location above the Falls of 
Verdigris River to territory within the forks of the Canadian and Ar- 
kansas Rivers. To this proposal the delegation returned a polite but 
tletermined refusal, and demanded that the actual number of acres to 
which they were entitled in Arkansas be ascertained and laid off with 
exact definiteness. The whole subject of an exchange of lands was 
thereupon submitted by the Secretary of War to the President for his 
direction, and it was announced® to the visiting delegation that the 
President had concluded to order a permanent western line to be run, 
within which. should be embraced the full quantity of land to which 
they were entitled, and which was found to be, as nearly as. possible, 
as follows:4 





Acres. 
In lieu of quantity ceded in Georgia (actual survey)....-...---..----.---- 824, 384 
In lieu of quantity ceded in Alabama (actual survey) .---.- Seeoeciusasis 738, 560 


In lieu of quantity ceded in Tennessee (actual survey) ..--. .-..--------- 1, 024, 000 
In lieu of quantity ceded in North Carolina (survey 70,000, estimate 630,000). 700, 000 


3, 286, 944 
Less 12 miles square, school reservation in Alabama ....-.-......-.--.---- 92, 160 





3, 194, 784 
' Letter of T. L. McKenney to Secretary of War, March 18, 1228. 
2 March 27, 1828. 
8 April 11, 1828. 
*The areas here given by the State authorities were largely below the quantity 
actually contained within the limits of the cessions within the States of Georgia, North 
Carolina, and Tennessee, as will be seen by a glance at the table of such areas on 


page 3ic.- 











248 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


As to their promised ‘“ western outlet,” the President was unprepared 
to say anything definite, inasmuch as that matter was then in the hands 
of Congress. 

From this showing it was made evident to the delegation, and no op- 
portunity was lost to impress the fact strongly upon them, that if they 
insisted upon refusing to arrange for an exchange of lands, instead of 
being entitled to a large additional tract beyond their provisional west- 
ern boundary, they would, in fact, be entitled to several hundred thou- 
sand acres less than had already been placed in their possession. In 
addition to this it was more than doubtful, from the temper of the Presi- 
dent and Congress, whether their long anticipated “western outlet” 
would ever erystallize into anything more tangible than a promise. 
With these facts staring them in the face, with the alluring offers held 
out to them of double the quantity of land possessed by them in Arkan- 
sas in exchange, with liberal promises of assistance in their proposed 
new homes, and with the persistent importunities of their agent and 
other United States officials, they yielded, and the treaty of May 6, 
1828,' an abstract of which has been already given, was the result. It 
was promptly ratified and proclaimed on the 28th of the same month. 

So nervous were the members of the delegation, after the treaty had 
been concluded and signed, as to the reception that would greet them 
on their return home, that the Secretary of War felt the necessity of 
giving them a letter of explanation to their people. In this letter the 
Cherokees were advised of the integrity, good conduct, and earnest zeal 
for the welfare of their nation that had invariably characterized the 
actions of their delegation at Washington. The nation was assured 
that their representatives had done the best thing possible for them to 
do in the late treaty.” 

Notwithstanding this testimonial, the delegation met with an angry 
reception on their return home. Their lives and property were unsafe ; 
the national council pronounced them guilty of fraud and deception, 
declared the treaty to be null and void, as having been made without 
any authority, and expressed an earnest desire to send a delegation to 
Washington clothed with power to arrange all differences.® 

In the mean time Agent Duval had been advised? of the ratification 
of the treaty, and Messrs. R. Ellis and A. Finney had been appointed, 
in conjunction with him, as commissioners to value all improvements 
and property abandoned by the Cherokees, and to sell the agency prop- 
erty as a means of raising funds for the erection of mills in their new 
country. 

Survey of new boundaries—The eastern line of this new Cherokee 





‘United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 311. 
2 Letter of Secretary of War to Western Cherokee delegation, May 17, 1828 
3 Letter of Sub-Agent Brearly to Secretary of War, September 27, 1828. 

4 May 28, 1828. 


ROYCE. J TREATY OF FEBRUARY 14, 1833. 249 


country, dividing it from Arkansas, was surveyed in 1829,' but it was 
not until April 13, 1831, that instructions were given to Isaac McCoy to 
survey the remaining boundaries. 

The fourth article of the treaty of 1828 contained a provision requir- 
ing the United States to sell the property and improvements connected 
with the agency for the erection of a grist and saw mill for the use of 
the Indians in their new home. In lieu of this grist and saw mill the 
United States furnished them with patent corn-mills to the amount of 
the appraised value of the improvements. A tractin townships 7 and 8 
of range 21, including these agency improvements, was surveyed sepa- 
rately in 1829, and was commonly known as the “Cherokee Agency Res- 
ervation.” In after years the Cherokees claimed that they had never 
been compensated for this so-called reserve and asserted that it still 
belonged to them. After a dispute continuing through many years, it 
was finally decided by the Secretary of the Interior, on the 28th of June, 
1878, that the reserve did not belong to the Cherokees, but that, through 
the operation of the treaty with them, it became a part of the public 
domain. 


TREATY CONCLUDED FEBRUARY 14, 1833.—PROCLAIMED APRIL 
12, 1834.2 


Held at Fort Gibson, on the Arkansas River, between Montfort Stokes, 
Henry L. Ellsworth, and John F. Schermerhorn, commissioners on the 
part of the United States,and the chiefs and headmen of the Cherokee Na- 
tion of Indians west of the Mississippi. 


MATERIAL PROVISIONS. 


It having been ascertained thatthe territory assigned to the Cherokees 
by the treaty of May 6, 1828, conflicted with a portion of the territory 
selected by the Creek Nation in conformity with the provisions of the 
Creek treaty of January 24, 1826, and the representative men of those 
two nations having met each other in council and adjusted all disputes 
as to boundaries, the United States, in order to confirm this adjustment, 
concluded the following articles of treaty and agreement with the 
Cherokees : 

1. The United States agree to possess the Cherokees, and to guar- 
antee it to them forever, * * * of seven millions of acres of land, 
to be bounded as follows, viz: Beginning at a point on the old western 
Terrivorial line of Arkansas Territory, being twenty-five miles north 
from the point where the Territorial line crosses Arkansas River; thence 
running from said north point south on the said Territorial line to the 
place where said Territorial line crosses the Verdigris River; thence 





1 Letter of T. L. McKenney to Secretary of War, January 21, 1830. 
>United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 414. 


250 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


down said Verdigris River to the Arkansas River; thence down said 
Arkansas River to a point where a stone is placed opposite to the east 
or lower bank of Grand River at its junction with the Arkansas; thence 
running south forty-four degrees west one mile; thence in a straight 
line to a point four miles northerly from the mouth of the North Fork 
of the Canadian; thence along the said four miles line to the Canadian ; 
thence down the Canadian to the Arkansas ; thence down the Arkansas 
to that point on the Arkansas where the eastern Choctaw boundary 
strikes said river, and running thence with the western line of Arkansas 
Territory, as now defined, to the southwest corner of Missouri; thence 
along the western Missouri line to the land assigned to the Senecas; 
thence on the south line of the Senecas to Grand River; thence up 
said Grand River as far as the south line of the Osage Reservation, ex- 
tended if necessary ; thence up and between said south Osage line, ex- 
tended west if necessary, and a line drawn due west from the point of 
beginning, to a certain distance west at which a line running north and 
south from said Osage line to said due-west line will make seven mill- 
ions of acres within the whole described boundaries. 

In addition to the seven millions of acres of land thus provided for 
and bounded, the United States further guarantee to the Cherokee 
Nation a perpetual outlet west, and a free and unmolested use of all the 
country lying west of the western boundary of said seven millions of 
acres, as far as the sovereignty of the United States and their right of 
soil extend: Provided, however, That if the saline or salt plain on the 
great western prairie shall fall within said limits prescribed for said 
outlet, the right is reserved to the United States to permit other tribes 
of red men to get salt on said plain in common with the Cherokees. 
And letters patent shall be issued by the United States as soon as prac- 
ticable for the land hereby guaranteed. 

2, The Cherokees relinquish to the United States all claim to all land 
ceded or claimed to have been ceded to them by treaty of May 6, 1828, 
not embraced within the limits fixed in this present supplementary 
treaty. 

3. The United States agree to cancel, at the request of the Cherokees, 
the sixth article of the treaty of May 6, 1828. 

4. The United States agree to furnish the Cherokees, during the pleas- 
ure of the President, four blacksmith’s shops, one wagon-maker’s shop, 
one wheelwright’s shop, and necessary tools, implements, and material 
for the same; also four blacksmiths, one wagon-maker, and one wheel 
wright; also eight patent railway corn-mills, in lieu of those agreed to 
be furnished by article 4 of the treaty of May 6, 1828. 

5. These articles are supplementary to the treaty of May 6, 1828. 

6. One mile square to be set apart for the accommodation of the Cher- 
okee Agency, to be selected jointly by the Cherokee Nation and United 
States agent. 


ROYCE.) TREATY OF FEBRUARY 14, 1833. 251 


7. This treaty to be obligatory after ratification by the President and 


Senate. 
HISTORICAL DATA. 


CONFLICTING LAND CLAIMS OF CREEKS AND CHEROKEES WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 


The treaty of January 24, 1826,! with the Creek Indians had provided 
for the removal of that tribe west of the Mississippi. In accordance 
with its provisions, a delegation consisting of five representative men 
of the tribe proceeded to the western country and selected the terri- 
tory designed for their future occupancy. The year following this se- 
lection a party of Creeks removed to and settled thereon. The country 
thus selected and occupied lay along and between the Verdigris, Ar- 
kansas, and Canadian Rivers.’ 

Subsequently, on the 6th day of May, 1828,° a treaty was concluded 
with the Cherokee Nation west of the Mississippi, by the terms of which 

‘they ceded all their lands within the present limits of Arkansas and 
accepted a tract of 7,000,000 acres within the present limits of Indian 
Territory, in addition to a perpetual outlet extending as far west as the 
western limits of the United States at that time, being the one hun- 
dredth meridian of longitude west from Greenwich. 

This new assignment of territory to the Cherokees, it was soon found, 
included a considerable portion of the lands selected by and already in 
the possession of the Creeks. 

The discovery of this fact produced much excitement and ill feeling 
in the minds of the people of both tribes, and led to many acts of injus- 
tice and violence during the course of several years. 

Territorial difficulties adjusted.—In the year 1832 a commission was 
constituted, consisting of Montfort Stokes, Henry L. Ellsworth,and John 
F. Schermerhorn, with instructions to visit the country west of the Mis- 
sissippi and to report fully all information relating to the country assigned 
as a permanent home to the aborigines. Among the formidable difii- 
culties presented for and earnestly urged upon their attention and con- 
sideration were these conflicting territorial claims of the Creeks and the 
Cherokees. Both parties claimed several million acres of the same land 
under treaty stipulations; both were equally persuaded of the justice of 
their respective claims, and at first were unyielding in their dispositions. 

After a protracted public council, however, in which a careful exami- 
nation and exposition of the various treaties was made, the commission- 
ers succeeded in inducing the Creeks to accept other lands to the south- 
ward of their upper settlements on Verdigris River, and concluded 
treaties with both the Creeks and the Cherokees modifying their respect- 
ive boundaries. 

' United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 236. 

2See Creek treaty of 1833, United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 417. 

5 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 311. 

4See preamble to Creek treaty of February 14, 1533, United States Statutes at 
Large, Vol. VIL, p. 417. 





252 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


This treaty of February 14, 1833, with the latter tribe occasioned a 
material change in the boundaries previously assigned them. 

Instead of following the western line of Arkansas and Missouri as far 
north as the point where the Grand or Neosho River crosses the bound- 
ary of the latter State, and running from thence due west to a point 
due north of the old western boundary line of Arkansas Territory, and 
thence south to the Arkansas River, the new line followed the present 
western boundary of Arkansas and Missouri as far north as the south 
line of the territory then recently assigned to the Senecas ; thence west 
along the south line of the Senecas to Grand River, and following up 
Grand River to the south boundary of the Osage reservation, which 
was parallel with the present southern boundary of Kansas, and on the 
average about two miles to the north of it; thence west for quantity. 


PURCHASE OF OSAGE HALF-BREED RESERVES, 


Prior! to the conclusion of this treaty of 1833, a delegation of the 
Western Cherokees had visited Washington to insist upon a literal ful- 
fillment of the treaty of 1828 and especially to demand that they be 
possessed of all lands and improvements within the outboundaries of 
their country as defined by the last named treaty. The lands and im- 
provements alluded to were seven reservations of one section each on 
the Neosho River assigned to certain half-breed Osage Indians by the 
terms of the treaty of 1825? with that tribe. 

Although the treaty of 1833 failed to make provision for the extin- 
guishment of these Osage half-breed titles, the desired object was at- 
tained by the terms of the fourth article of the treaty of December 29, 
1835, wherein $15,000 were appropriated for the purchase. 


PRESIDENT JACKSON REFUSES TO APPROVE THE TREATY OF 1834. 


On the 10th of February, 1834, George Vashon, agent for the Western 
Cherokees, negotiated a treaty with them‘ having in view an adjust- 
ment of certain differences between themselves and their eastern breth- 
ren, whereby the feelings of the latter should be more favorably af- 
fected toward an emigration to the western country. The treaty pro- 
vided for a readjustment of the tribal annuities proportioned to the 
respective numbers of the Cherokees east and west, the basis of division 
to be ascertained by an accurate census. The country provided for the 
Cherokees by the treaty of 1833 was to be enlarged so that it should 
equal in quantity, acre for acre, the country ceded by the Cherokees 
east in 1817 and 1819, as well as the proportional quantity of those 
who should agree to emigrate to the West under the provisions of this 
treaty. It was also agreed that all Cherokees should possess equal 








‘In March, 1832. 
>United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 240. 
United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 478. 
+See Indian Office files. 


ROYCE.) TREATY OF DECEMBER 29, 1835 253 


rights in the new country, and that an asylum should be established 
for the maintenance of the orphan children of the tribe. The negotia- 
tions thus entered into were, however, barren of results, inasmuch as 
President Jackson refused to recommend the treaty to the Senate for 
the advice and consent of that body.! 


TREATY CONCLUDED DECEMBER 2g, 1835; PROCLAIMED MAY 23, 1836. 


Held at New Echota, Georgia, between General William Carroll and John 
F. Schermerhorn, commissioners on the part of the United States, and the 
chiefs, headmen, and people of the Cherokee tribe of Indians 


MATERIAL PROVISIONS. 


The preamble recites at considerable length the reasons for the nego- 
tiation of the treaty and the preliminary steps taken, following which 
the provisions of the treaty as concluded are given. 

1. The Cherokee Nation cedes to the United States all the land claimed 
by said Nation east of the Mississippi River, and hereby releases all 
claims on the United States for spoliations of every kind for and in con- 
sideration of $5,000,000. In case the United States Senate shonld decide 
that this sum does not include spoliation claims, then $300,000 additional 
should be allowed for that purpose. 

2. The description of the 7,000,000 acres of land guaranteed to the 
Cherokees west of the Mississippi by the treaties of 1828 and 1833 is 
repeated, and in addition thereto the further guaranty is made to the 
Cherokee Nation of a perpetual outlet west, and a free and unmolested 
use of all the country west of the western boundary of said 7,000,000 
acres, as far west as the sovereignty of the United States and their right 
of soil extend, provided that if the salt plain shall fall within the limits of 
said outlet the right is reserved to the United States to permit other 
tribes of Indians to procure sait thereon. ‘And letters patent shall be 
issued by the United States as soon as practicable for the land hereby 
guaranteed.” 

It being apprehended that the above would afford insufficient land for 
the Cherokees, the United States, in consideration of $500,000, agree to 
patent to them in fee simple the following additional tract, viz: Begin- 
ning at the southeast corner of the Osage Reservation, and running north 
along the east line of the Osage lands 50 miles to the northeast corner 
thereof, thence east to the west line of the State of Missouri, thence with 
said line south 50 miies, thence west to the place of beginning, estimated 
to contain 800,000 aeres, it being understood thatif any of the Quapaw 
lands should fall within these limits they should be excepted. 

3. All the foregoing described lands to be included in one patent, 
under the provisions of the act of May 28, 1830; the United States to 





‘See Indian Office records. 
2United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 478. 


254 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


retain possession of the Fort Gibson military reservation until aban- 
doned, when it shall revert to the Cherokees. The United States re- 
serve the right to establish post and military roads and forts in any 
part of the Cherokee country. 

4, The United States agree to extinguish for the Cherokees the Osage 
half-breed titles to reservations under the treaty of 1825 for the sum of 
$15,000. The United States agree to pay to the American Board of Com- 
missioners for Foreign Missions the appraised value of their improve- 
ments at Union and Harmony missions. 

5. The United States agree that. the land herein guaranteed to the 
Cherokees shall never, without their consent, be included within the 
limits or jurisdiction of any State or Territory. The United States 
also agree to secure them the right to make and carry into effect such 
laws as they deem necessary, provided they shall not be inconsistent 
with the Constitution of the United States and such acts of Congress 
as provide for the regulation of trade and intercourse with the Indian 
tribes; and provided also they shall not affect such citizens and army 
of the United States as may travel or reside in the Indian country by 
permission granted under the laws or regulations thereof. 

6. Perpetual peace shall exist between the United States and the 
Cherokees. The United States shall protect the Cherokees from domestic 
strife, foreign enemies, and from war with other tribes, as well as from 
the unlawful intrusion of citizens of the United States. The Cherokees 
shall endeavor to maintain peace among themselves and with their 
neighbors. 

7. The Cherokees shall be entitled to a delegate in the United States 
House of Representatives whenever Congress shall make provision for 
the same. 

5. The United States agree to remove the Cherokees to their new home 
and to provide them with one year’s subsistence thereafter. Those de- 
siring to remove themselves shall be allowed a commutation of $20 per 
head therefor, and, if they prefer it, a commutation of $334 per head in 
lieu of the one year’s promised subsistence. Cherokees residing outside 
the limits of the nation who shall remove within two years to the new 
Cherokee country shall be entitled to the same allowances as others. 

9, The United States agree to make an appraisement of the value of 
all Cherokee improvements and ferries. The just debts of the Indians 
shall be paid out of any moneys due them for improvements and claims, 
The Indians shall be furnished with sufficient funds for their removal, 
and the balance of their dues shall be paid them at the Cherokee Agency 
west of the Mississippi. Missionary establishments shall be appraised 
and the value paid to the treasurers of the societies by whom they were 
established. 

10. The President of the United States shall invest in good interest- 
paying stocks the following sums for the benetit of the Cherokee peo 
ple, the interest thereon only to be expended: $200,000, in addition to 


ROYCE. | TREATY OF DECEMBER 29, 1835. 255 


their present annuities, for a general national fund; $50,000 for an or- 
phans’ fund; $150,000, in addition to existing school fund, for a perma- 
nent national school fund: the disbursement of the interest on the fore- 
going funds to be subject to examination and any misapplicatious thereof 
to be corrected by the President of the United States. 

On two years’ notice the Cherokee council may withdraw their funds, 
by the consent of the President and the United States Senate, and invest 
them in such manner as they deem proper. The United States agree to 
appropriate $60,000 to pay the just debts and claims against the Cher- 
okee Nation held by citizens of the same, and also claims of citizens of 
the United States for services rendered the nation. Three hundred 
thousand dollars is appropriated by the United States to liquidate Cher- 
okee claims against the United States for spoliations of every kind. 

11. The Cherokees agree to commute their existing permanent annuu- 
ity of $10,000 for the sum of $214,000, the same to be invested by the 
President as a part of the general fund of the nation. Their present 
school fund shall also constitute a portion of the permanent national 
school fund. 

12. Such Cherokees as are averse to removal west of the Mississippi 
and desire to become citizens of the States where they reside, if qualified 
to take care of themselves and their property, shall receive their pro- 
portion of all the personal benefits accruing under this treaty for claims, 
improvements, and per capita. 

Such heads of Cherokee families as desire to reside within the States 
of North Carolina, Tennessee, and Alabama, subject to the laws thereof 
and qualified to become useful citizens, shall be entitled to a pre-emption 
right of 160 acres at the minimum Congress price, to include their im- 
provements. John Ross and eleven others named are designated as a 
committee on the part of the Cherokees to recommend persons entitled 
to take pre-emption rights, to select the missionaries who shall be 
removed with the nation, and to transact all business that may arise 
with the United States in carrying the treaty into effect. One hundred 
thousand dollars shall be expended by the United States for the bene- 
fit of such of the poorer classes of Cherokees as shall remove west. 

13. All Cherokees and their heirs to whom reservations had been 
made by any previous treaty, and who had not sold or disposed of the 
same, such reservations being subsequently sold by the United States 
should be entitled to receive the present value thereof from the United 
States as unimproved lands. All such reservations not sold were to 
be confirmed to the reservees or their heirs. All persons entitled to 
reservations under treaty of 1817, whose reservations, as selected, were 
included by the treaty of 1819 in the unceded lands of the Cherokee 
Nation, shall be entitled to a grant for the same. All reservees who 
were obliged by the laws of the States in which their reservations were 
situated to abandon the same or purchase them from the States, shall 
be deemed to have a just claim against the United States for the value 


256 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


thereof or for the amount paid therefor, with interest. The amount 
allowed for reservations under this article is to be paid independently, 
and not out of the consideration allowed to the Cherokees for spolia- 
tion claims and their cession of lands. 

14. Cherokee warriors wounded in the service of the United States 
during the late war with Great Britain and the southern tribes of In- 
dians shall be allowed such pensions as Congress shall provide. 

15. The balance of the consideration herein stated, after deducting 
the amount actually expended for improvements, ferries, claims, spolia- 
tions, removal, subsistence, debts, and claims upon the Cherokee Nation, 
additional quantity of lands, goods for the poorer class of Cherokees, 
and the several sums to be invested for the general national funds, shall 
be divided equally among all the people belonging to the Cherokee Na- 
tion east, according to the census just completed. Certain Cherokees 
who had removed west since June, 1833, were to be paid for their im- 
provements. ; 

16. The Cherokees stipulate to remove west within two years from 
the ratification of this treaty, during which time the United States shall 
protect them in the possession and enjoyment of their property, and in 
case of failure to do so shall pay all losses and damages sustained by 
them in consequence thereof. 

The United States and the several States interested in the Cherokee 
lands shallimmediately proceed to survey the lands ceded by this treaty, 
but the agency buildings and tract of land surveyed and laid off for the 
use of Col. R. J. Meigs, Indian agent, shall continue subject to the con- 
trol of the United States or such agent as may be specially engaged in 
superintending the removal of the tribe. 

17. All claims arising under or provided for in this treaty shall be 
examined and adjudicated by General William Carroll and John F. 
Schermerhorn, or by such commissioners as shall be appointed by the 
President of the United States for that purpose, and their decision 
shall be final, and the several claimants shall be paid on their certificate 
by the United States. All stipulations of former treaties not super- 
seded or annulled by this treaty shall continue in force. 

18. The annuities of the nation which may accrue during the next 
two years preceding their removal shall, on account of the failure of 
crops, be expended in provision and clothing for the benefit of the poorer 
classes of the nation as soon after the ratification of this treaty as an 
appropriation shall be made. No interference is, however, intended 
with that part of the annuities due the Cherokees west under the treaty 
of 1819. 

19. This treaty is to be obligatory after ratification. 

20. The United States guarantee the payment of all unpaid just 
claims upon the Indians, without expense to them, out of the proper 
funds of the United States for the settlement of which a cession or ces- 
sions of land has or have been heretofore made by the Indians in 


ROYCE. ] SUPPLEMENTAI, TREATY OF DECEMBER 29, 1335. 257 


Georgia, provided the United States or State of Georgia has derived 
benefit therefrom without having made payment therefor. 

This article was inserted by unanimous request of the Cherokee com- 
mittee after the signing of the treaty, it being understood that its rejec- 
tion by the Senate of the United States should not impair any other 
article of the treaty. 

On the 31st of December, 1835, James Rogers and John Smith, as 
delegates from the Western Cherokees, signed an agreement which is 
attached to the treaty wherein they agreed to its provisions on behalf 
of the Western Cherokees, with the proviso that it should not affect 
any claims of the latter against the United States. 


SUPPLEMENTARY ARTICLES TO FOREGOING TREATY, CONCLUDED 
MARCH 1, 1836; PROCLAIMED MAY 23, 1836.! 


Agreed on between John F. Schermerhorn, commissioner on the part of the 
United States, and the committee duly authorized at a general council held 
at New Echota, Georgia, to act for and on behalf of the Cherokee people. 


MATERIAL PROVISIONS, 


These articles were concluded as supplementary to the treaty of De- 
cember 29, 1835, and were ratified at the same time and as a part of 
that treaty. They were rendered necessary by the determination of 
President Jackson not to allow any pre-emptions or reservations, his de- 
sire being that the whole Cherokee people should remove together to 
the country west of the Mississippi. 

1. All pre-emption rights and reservations provided for in articles 12 
and 15 are declared void. 

2. The Cherokees having supposed that the sum of $5,000,000, fixed 
as the value of Cherokee lands, did not include the amount required to 
remove them, nor the value of certain claims held by them against citi- 
zens of the United States, and the President being willing that the sub- 
ject should be referred to the Senate of the United States for any further 
provision that body should deem just, 

3. It is agreed, should it receive the concurrence of that body, to allow 
the Cherokees the sum of $600,000, to include the expenses of removal 
and all claims against the United States not otherwise specifically pro- 
vided for, and to be in lieu of the aforesaid reservations and pre-emp- 
tions and of the $300,000 for spoliations provided in article 1 of the 
original treaty to which this is supplementary. This sum of $600,000 
shall be applied and distributed agreeably to the provisions of said 
treaty, the surplus, if any, to belong to the education fund. 

4. The provision of article 16 concerning the agency reservations is 
not intended to interfere with the occupant right of any Cherokees 
whose improvements may fall within the same. 





‘ United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 488. 
5 ETH——17 


258 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


The $100,000 appropriated in article 12 for the poorer class of Chero- 
kees, and intended as a set-off to the pre-emption rights, shall now be 
added to the general national fund of $400,000. 

5. The expenses of negotiating the treaty and supplement and of 
such persons of the Cherokee delegation as may sign the same shall be 
defrayed by the United States. 

Norn.—The following amendments were made by the United States 
Senate: In article 17 strike out the words ‘“ by General William Carroll 
and John F. Schermerhorn, or;” also, in the same article, after the word 
“States,” insert ‘by and with the advice and consent of the Senate of 
the United States;” and strike out the 20th article, which appears as 
a supplemental article. 

HISTORICAL DATA. 


ZEALOUS MEASURES FOR REMOVAL OF EASTERN CHEROKEES. 


While the events connected with the negotiation and the execution of 
the treaty of 1828 with the Western Cherokees were occurring those 
Cherokees who yet remained in their old homes east of the Mississippi 
River were burdened with a continually increasing catalogue of dis- 
tressing troubles. So soon as the treaty of 1828 was concluded it was 
made known to them that inducements were therein held out for a con- 
tinuance of the emigration to the Arkansas country. Agent Mont- 
gomery was instructed’ to use every means in his power to facilitate 
this scheme of removal, and especially among those Cherokees who re- 
sided within the chartered limits of Georgia. 

Secret agents were appointed and $2,000 were authorized by the 
Secretary of War to be expended in purchasing the influence of the 
chiefs in favor of the project.2. A. R.S. Hunter and J. 8. Bridges were 
appointed® commissioners to value the improvements of the Cherokees 
who should elect to remove. 

After nearly a year of zealous work in the cause, Agent Montgomery 
was only able to report the emigration of four hundred and thirty-one 
Indians and seventy-nine slaves, comparatively few of whom were from 
Georgia! Nine months later three hundred and forty-six persons had 
emigrated from within the limits of that State. The hostility mani- 
fested by the larger proportion of the Cherokees toward those who 
gave favorable consideration to the plan of removal was so great as to 
require the establishment of a garrison of United States troops within 
the nation for their protection.* 

President Jackson’s advice to the Cherokees.—Early in 1829," a delegation 
from the nation proceeded to Washington to lay their grievances before 





1 May 27, 1828. 
> Letter of War Department to Hugh Montgomery, Cherokee agent, May 27, 1828, 
and to General William Carroll, May 30, 1629. 
3 December 18, 1828. 
‘Letter of T. L. McKenney to Secretary of War, November, 17, 1829. 
> Letter of T. L. McKenney to Hugh Montgomery, Cherokee agent, August 6, 1830 
° Letter of Cherokee delegation (East) to Secretary of War, January 21, 1829. 








FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT PL XV 








EAU OF ETHNOLOGY 


FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT PL XV 





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ROYCE. | TREATY OF DECEMBER 29, 1835. 259 


President Jackson, but they found the Executive entertaining opinions 
about their rights very different from those which had been held 
by his predecessors. They were advised! that the answer to their 
claim of being an independent nation was to be found in the fact that 
during the Revolutionary war the Cherokees were the ailies of Great 
Britain, a power claiming entire sovereignty of the thirteen colonies, 
which sovereignty, by virtue of the Declaration of Independence and 
the subsequent treaty of 1783, became vested respectively in the thir- 
teen original States, including North Carolina and Georgia. If they 
had since been permitted to abide on their lands, it was by permission, 
a circumstance giving noright to deny the sovereignty of those States. 
Under the treaty of 1785 the United States “ give peace to all the 
Cherokees and receive them into favor and protection.” Subsequently 
they had made war on the United States, and peace was not con- 
cluded until 1791. No guarantee, however, was given by the United 
States adverse to the sovereignty of Georgia, and none could be given. 
Their course in establishing an independent government within the 
limits of Georgia, adverse to her will, had been the cause of inducing 
her to depart from the forbearance she had so long practiced, and to 
provoke the passage of the recent? act of ber legislature, extending her 
laws and jurisdiction over their country. The arms of the United 
States, the President remarked, would never be employed to stay any 
State of the Union from the exercise of the legitimate powers belong- 
ing to her in her sovereign capacity. No remedy for them could be 
perceived except removal west of the Mississippi River, where alone 
peace and protection could be afforded them. To continue where they 
were could promise nothing but interruption and disquietude. Beyond 
the Mississippi the United States, possessing the sole sovereignty, could 
say to them that the land should be theirs while trees grow and water 
runs. 

The delegation were much cast down by these expressions of the 
President, but they abated nothing of their demand for protection in 
what they considered to be the just rights of their people. They re- 
turned to their country more embittered than before against the Geor- 
gians, and lost no opportunity, by appeals to the patriotism as well as 
to the baser passions of their countrymen, to excite them to a determi- 
nation to protect their country at all hazards agaiust Georgian encroach- 
ment and occupation.’ 


GENERAL CARROLL'S REPORT ON THE CONDITION OF THE CHEROKEES. 


About this time* General William Carroll was designated by the 
President to make a tour through the Cherokee and Creek Nations, 


‘Letter of Se cretary - of War to Cherokee ‘delegation, April 18, 1829, 
*December 20, 1823. 

’Agent Montgomery to the Secretary of War, July 11, 1829. 
4Secretary of War to General William Carroll, May 27, 1829. 


260 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


with both of which be was supposed to possess much influence. His 
mission was to urge upon them, and especially upon the former, the 
expediency of their removal west of the Mississippi under the induce- 
ments held out by the treaty of 1828. A month later! Col. E. I’. Tat- 
nall and on the Sth of July General John Coffee were appointed to co- 
operate with General Carroll in the accomplishment of his mission. 
The results of this tour were communicated? to the War Department 
by General Carroll in a report in which he remarked that nothing could 
be done with the Cherokees by secret methods; they were too intelli- 
gent and too well posted on the current news of the day to belong kept 
in ignorance of the methods and motives of those who came among them. 
He had met their leading men at Newtown and had submitted a pro- 
posal for their removal which was peremptorily rejected. The advance- 
ment the Cherokees had made in religion, morality, general information, 
and agriculture had astonished him beyond measure. They had regu- 
lar preachers in their churches, the use of spirituous liquors was in 
great degree prohibited, their farms were worked much after the man- 
ner of white people, and were generally in good order. Many families 
possessed all the comforts and some of the luxuries of life. Cattle, 
sheep, hogs, and fowl of every kind were found in great abundance. 
The Cherokees had been induced by Eastern papers to believe the Pres- 
ident was not sustained by the people in his views of their proposed 
removal. Eastern members of Congress had given their delegation to 
understand while in Washington the preceding spring that the memo- 
vialleft by them protesting against the extension of the laws of Georgia 
aud Alabama over Cherokee territory would be sustained by Congress, 
and that until that memorial had been definitely acted on by that body 
all propositions to them looking toward removal would be worse than 
useless. 

Cherokees refuse to cede lands in North Carolina.—In the early summer 
of 18293 a commission had also been appointed, consisting of Humphrey 
Posey and a Mr. Saunders, having in view the purchase from the Cher- 
okees of that portion of their country within the limits of North Caro- 
lina, but it, too, failed wholly of accomplishing its purpose. 

Coercive measures of the United States and Georgia.—Sundry expedi- 
ents were resorted to, both by the General Government and by the au- 
thorities of Georgia, to compel the acquiescence of the Indians in the 
demands for their emigration. 

The act of the Georgia legislature of December 20, 1825, already 
alluded to, was an act “to add the territory within this State and oceu- 
pied by the Cherokee Indians to the counties of De Kalb e¢ al., and to 
extend the laws of this State over the same.” This was followed* by 








1 June 25, 1829. 
2November 19, 1829. 
3 June 23, 1829. 
4December 19, 1829. 


Kore. ] TREATY OF DECEMBER 29, 1835. 261 


the passage of an act reasserting the territorial jurisdiction of Georgia 
and annulling all laws made by the Cherokee Indians. It further de- 
clared that in any controversy arising between white persons and Indians 
the latter should be disqualified as witnesses. Supplementary. legisla- 
tion of a similar character followed in quick succession, and the procla- 
mation of the governor of the State was issued on the 3d of June, 1830, 
declaring the arrival of the date fixed by the aforesaid acts and the con- 
sequent subjection of the Cherokee territory to the State laws and 
jurisdiction. 

The President of the United States about the same time gave direc- 
tions to suspend the enrollment and removal of Cherokees to the west 
in small parties, accompanied by the remark that if they (the Chero- 
kees) thought it for their interest to remain, they must take the conse- 
quences, but that the Executive of the United States bad no power to 
interfere with the exercise of the sovereignty of any State over and 
upon all within its limits. The President also directed’ that the pre- 
vious practice of paying their annuities to the treasurer of the Chero- 
kee Nation should be discontinued, and that they be thereafter dis- 
tributed among the individual members of the tribe. Orders were 
shortly aftert given to the commandant of troops in the Cherokee 
country to prevent all persons, including members of the tribe, from 
opening up or working any mineral deposits within their limits. All 
these additional annoyances and restrictions placed upon the free ex- 
ercise of their supposed rights, so far from securing compliance with 
the wishes of the Government, had a tendency to harden the Cherokee 
heart. 





* Among other legislation on this subject enacted by Georgia may be enumerated the 
following, viz: 

1. A penalty of forfeiture of all right to his land and improvements was denounced 
against any Cherokee who should employ any white man, or the slave of any white 
mnan, as a tenant-eropper, or assistant in agriculture, or asa miller or millwright. 

2. Any Indian who should enroll for emigration and afterwards refuse to emigrate 
should forfeit ail right to any future occupancy within the State. 

3. No Indian should be allowed the use of more than 160 acres of land, including 
his dwelling house. 

4. Grants were to be issued for all lots drawn in the late land and gold lottery, though 
they might lie within the improvements of an Indian who had by any previous Cher- 
okee treaty received a reservation either in Georgia or elsewhere. 

5. No contract between a white man and an Indian, either verbal or written, should 
be binding uuless established by the testimony of two white witnesses. 

6. Any Indian forcibly obstructing the occupancy by the drawer of any lot drawn 
in the land and gold lottery should be subject to imprisonment in the diserétion of 
the court. 

> Letter of War Department to Hugh Montgomery, Cherokee agent, June 9, 1830. 

* Letter of Acting Secretary of War to H. Montgomery, Cherokee Agent, June 18, 
1830. 

‘Letter of Acting Secretary of Warto H. Montgomery, Cherokee Agent, June 26, 
1830. 


262 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 
FAILURE OF COLONEL LOWRY’S MISSION. 


In this situation of affairs Col. John Lowry was appointed! a special 
commissioner to visit the Cherokee Nation and again lay before them 
a formal proposition for their removal west. The substance of Mr. 
Lowry’s proposal as communicated by him to their national council? 
was: (1) To give to the Cherokees a country west of the Mississippi, 
equal in value to the country they would leave; (2) each warrior and 
widow living within the limits of Alabama or Tennessee was to be 
permitted, if so desiring, to select a reservation of 200 acres, which, if 
subsequently abandoned, was to be sold for the reservee’s benefit ; (3) 
each Indian desiring to become a citizen of the United States was to 
have a reservation in fee-simple ; (4) all emigrants were to be removed 
and fed one year at the expense of the United States, and to be com- 
peusated for all property, except horses, they should leave behind them, 
aud, (5) the nation was to be provided with a liberal school fund. 

Again the resulé was an emphatic refusal’ on the part of the Chero- 
kees to enter into negotiations on the subject. Other special commis- 
sioners and emissaries, of whom several were appointed in the next few 
months, met with the same reception. 


DECISION OF THE SUPREME COURT IN CHEROKEE NATION VS. GEORGIA. 


Determined to test the constitutionality of the hostile legislation of 
Georgia, application was made at the January term, 1831, of the Su- 
preme Court of the United States, by John Ross, as principal chief, in 
the name of the Cherokee Nation, for an injunction against the State of 
Georgia. The application was based on the theory that the Cherokee 
Nation was a sovereign and independent power in the sense of the 
language of the second section of the third article of the Constitution 
of the United States providing for judicial jurisdiction of cases arising 
between a State, or the citizens thereof, and foreign states, citizens, or 
subjects. The majority of the court declared that the Cherokee Nation 
was not a foreign nation in the sense stated in the Constitution, and 
dismissed the suit for want of jurisdiction. From this decision, how- 
ever, Justices Thompson and Story dissented. * 


FAILURE OF MR. CHESTER’S MISSION, 


No further formal attempt was made to secure a compliance with 
the wishes of the Government until the winter and spring of 1831~82. 
A delegation of Cherokees had visited Washington in the interests of 
their people, and though nothing was accomplished through them, the 
language used by some members of the delegation had led the Govern- 





' September 1, 1830. 

2 October 20, 1830. 

3 Action of Cherokee national council, October 22, 1830. 

4Cherokee Nation vs. State of Georgia, Peters’s United States Supreme Court Re- 
ports; Volo Wipsaw. 


ROYCE.) TREATY OF DECEMBER 29, 1835. 263 


ment authorities to hope that a change of sentiment on the subject of 
removal was rapidly taking place in their minds. In pursuance of this 
impression the Secretary of War, in the spring of 1832,! intrusted Mr. 
E. W. Chester with a mission to the Cherokees, and with instructions 
to offer them as a basis for the negotiation of a treaty the following 
terms: 

1. The United States to provide thein with a country west of Arkan- 
sas sufficiently large for their accommodation. 

2. This country to be conveyed to them by patent under the act of 
Congress of May 28, 1830, and to be forever outside the limits of any 
State or Territory. 

3. The Cherokees to retain and possess all the powers of self-govern- 
ment consistent with a supervisory authority of Congress. 

4, To have an agent resident in Washington to represent their in- 
terest, who should be paid by the United States. 

5. With the consent of Congress they should be organized as a Terri- 
tory and be represented by a delegate in that body. 

6. All white persons should be excluded from their country. 

7. The United States to remove them to their new country and to 
pay the expenses of such removal, which might be conducted in either 
of three ways, viz: 

(a) By a commutation in money, to be allowed either individuals or 
families. 

(b) By persons to be appointed and paid by the United States. 

(c) By arrangement among themselves, through which some compe- 
tent person should remove them at a fixed rate. 

8. The United States to provide them with subsistence for one year 
after removal. 

9. An annuity to be secured to them proportioned to the value of the 
cession of territory they should make. 

10. The United States to pay for all Indian improvements upon the 
ceded land. 

11. Provision to be made for the support of schools, teachers, black- 
smiths and their supplies, mills, school-houses, churches, council-houses, 
and houses for the principal chiefs. 

12. A rifle to be presented to each adult male, and blankets, axes, 
plows, hoes, spinning-wheels, cards, and looms to each family. 

15. Indian live stock to be valued and paid for by the United States. 

14, Annuities under former treaties to be paid to them upon their 
arrival west of the Mississippi. 

15. Provision to be made by the United States for Cherokee orphan 
children. 

16. Protection to be guaranteed to the Cherokees against hostile 
Indians. 





1April 17, 1832. 


264 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


17. A few individual reservations to be permitted east of the Missis- 
sippi, but only on condition that the reservees Shall become citizens of 
the State in which they reside, and that all reservations between them 
and the United States, founded upon their previous circumstances as 
Indians, must cease. 

Cherokees contemplate removal to Columbia River.—In the discussion 
of these propositions the fact was developed that a project had been 
canvassed, and had received much favorable consideration among the 
Cherokees themselves (in view of the difficulties and harrassing cir- 
cumstances surrounding their situation), to abandon their eastern home 
and to remove to the country adjacent to the mouth of the Columbia 
River, on the Pacific coast. This proposition haying reached the ears 
of the Secretary of War, he made haste, in a letter to Mr. Chester,' 
to discourage all idea of such a removal, predicated upon the theory 
that they would be surrounded by tribes of hostile savages, and would 
be too remote from the frontier and military posts of the United States 
to enable the latter to extend to them the arm of protection and sup- 
port. 

Nothing was accomplished by the negotiations of Mr. Chester, and 
in the autumn? of the same year Governor Lumpkin, of Georgia, was 
requested to attend the Cherokee council in October and renew the 
proposition upon the same basis. <A similar fate attended this attempt. 


DECISION OF SUPREME COURT IN WORCESTER VS. GEORGIA. 


Among other laws passed by the State of Georgia was one that 
went into effect on the Ist of February, 1831, which prohibited the 
Cherokees from holding councils, or assembling for any purpose ; pro- 
vided for a distribution of their lands among her citizens; required all 
whites residing in the Cherokee Nation within her chartered limits to 
take an oath of allegiance to the State, and made it an offense punish- 
able by four years’ imprisonment in the penitentiary to refuse to do so. 
Under this law two missionaries, Messrs. Worcester and Butler, were 
indicted in the superior court of Gwinnett County for residing without 
license in that part of the Cherokee country attached to Georgia by her 
laws and in violation of the act of her legislature approved December 
22,1830. In the trial of Mr. Worcester’s case, which was subsequently 
made the test case in the Supreme Court of the United States, he 
pleaded that he was a citizen of Vermont and entered the Cherokee 
country as a missionary with the permission of the President of the 
United States and the approval of the Cherokee Nation; that Georgia 
ought not to maintain the prosecution inasmuch as several treaties had 
been entered into by the United States with the Cherokee Nation, by 
which the latter were acknowledged as a sovereign nation, and by which 
the territory occupied by them had been guaranteed to them by the 








1 July 18, 1832. 
2 September 4, 1832. 


ROYCE. TREATY OF DECEMBER 29, 1835. 265 


United States. The superior court overruled this plea, and Mr. Wor- 
cester was tried, convicted, and sentenced to four years in the peniten- 
tiary. 

The case was carried up on a writ of error to the Supreme Court of 
the United States, and that court asserted its jurisdiction. In render- 
ing its decision the court remarks that the principle that discovery of 
parts of the continent of America gave title to the government by 
whose subjects or by whose authority it was made against all other 
European governments, which title might be consummated by posses- 
sion, was acknowledged by all Europeans because it was the interest of 
all to acknowledge it, and because it gave to the nation making the dis- 
covery, aS its inevitable consequence, the sole right of acquiring the 
soil and of making settlements on it. It was an exclusive principle 
which shut out the right of competition among those who had agreed 
to it, but not one which could annul the rights of those who had not 
agreed to it. It regulated the rights of the discoverers among them- 
selves, but could not affect the rights of those already in possession as 
aboriginal occupants. It gave the exclusive right of purchase, but did 
not found it on a denial of the right of the possessor to sell. The United 
States succeeded to all the claims of Great Britain, both territorial and 
political. Soon after Great Britain had determined on planting colonies 
in America the King granted sundry charters to his subjects. They 
purport generally to convey the soil from the Atlantic to the South Sea. 
The soil was occupied by numerous warlike nations, willing and able to 
defend their possessions. The absurd idea that feeble settlements made 
on the sea-coast acquired legitimate power to govern the people or oc- 
cupy the lands from sea to sea did not then enter the mind of any 
man. These charters simply conferred the right of purchasing such 
lands as the natives were willing to sell. The acknowledgment of 
dependence made in the various Cherokee treaties with Great Britain 
and the United States merely bound them as a dependent ally claiming 
the protection of a powerful friend and neighbor and receiving the 
advantages of that protection, without involving a surrender of their 
national character. Neither the Government nor the Cherokees ever 
understood it otherwise. Protection did not imply the destruction of 
the protected. 

Georgia herself had furnished conclusive evidence that her former 
opinions on the subject of the Indians concurred with those entertained 
by her sister States and by the Goverfiment of the United States. Vari- 
ous acts of her legislature had been cited in the argument of the case, 
including the contract of cession made in 1802, all tending to prove 
her acquiescence in the universal conviction that the Cherokee Nation 
possessed a full right to the lands they occupied, until that right should 
be extinguished by the United States with their consent; that their ter- 
ritory was separated from that of any State within whose chartered lim- 
its they might reside, by a boundary line established by treaties; that 


266 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


within their boundary they possessed rights with which no State could 
interfere, and that the whoie power of regulating the intercourse with 
them was vested in the United States. The legislation of Georgia on 
this subject was therefore unconstitutional and void.! 

Georgia refuses to submit to the decision of the Supreme Court.—Georgia 
refused to submit to the decision and alleged that the court possessed no 
right to pronounce it, she being by the Constitution of the United States 
a sovereign and independent State, and no new State could be formed 
within her limits without her consent. 

President Jacksons dilemma.—The President was thus placed between 
two fires, Georgia demanding the force of his authority to protect her 
constitutional rights by refusing to enforce the decision of the court, 
and the Cherokees demanding the maintenance of their rights as guar- 
anteed them under the treaty of 1791 and sustained by the decision of 
the Supreme Court. 

It was manifest the request of both could not be complied with. If 
he assented to the desire of the Cherokees a civil war was likely to 
ensue with the State of Georgia. If he did not enforce the decision 
and protect the Cherokees, the faith of the nation would be violated? 
in this dilemma a treaty was looked upon as the only alternative, by 
which the Cherokees should relinquish to the United States all their 
interest in lands east of the Mississippi and remove to the west of that 
river, and more earnest, urgent, aud persistent pressure than before was 
applied from this time forward to compel their acquiescence in such a 
scheme, 


DISPUTED BOUNDARIES BETWEEN CHEROKEES AND CREEKS. 


Mention has already been made in discussing the terms of the treaty 
of September 22, 1816, of the complications arising out of the question 
of disputed boundaries between the Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws, and 
Chickasaws. These disputes related chiefly to an adjustment of bound- 
aries within the Territory of Alabama, rendered necessary for the defi- 
nite ascertainment of the limits of the Creek cession of 1814. But as 
a result of the Cherokee cession of 1817 and the Creek cessions of 1818, 
1821, 1826, and 1827, the true boundary between the territories of these 
two latter nations became not only a matter of dispute, but one that 
for years lent additional bitterness to the contest between the people 
of Georgia and the Indians, especially the Cherokees. Prior to the 

Revolution, the latter had claimed to own the territory within the limits 
of Georgia, as far south as the waters of Broad River, and extending 
from the headwaters of that river westward. Some of this territory 











1 Worcester vs. State of Georgia, Peters’s United States Supreme Court Reports, Vol, 
VI, p. 515. 

2 According to the statement of Hon. Geo. N. Briggs, a member of Congress from 
Massachusetts, President Jackson remarked, after the case of Worcester vs. State of 
Georgia was decided, ‘‘ Well, John Marshall has made his decision, now let him en- 
force it.” 


ROYCE. } TREATY OF DECEMBER 29, 1835. 267 


was also claimed by the Creeks, and the British Government had 
therefore in purchasing it accepted a cession from those tribes jointly.’ 

At the beginning of the Federal relations with the Cherokees, a defi- 
nition of their boundaries had been made by treaty of November 28, 
1785, extending on the south as far west as the headwaters of the 
Appalachee River. Beyond that point to the west no declaration as to 
the limits of the Cherokee territory was made, because, for the purposes 
of the Federal Government, none was at that time necessary. But 
when in course of time other cessions came to be made, both by the 
Cherokees and Creeks, it began to be essential to have an exact defi- 
nition of the line of limits between them. Especially was this the case 
when, as by the terms of the Creek treaty of February 12, 1825, they 
ceded all the territory to which they laid claim within the limits of 
Georgia, and although this treaty was afterwards declared void by the 
United States, because of alleged fraud, Georgia always maintained 
the propriety and validity of its negotiation. 

As early as June 10, 1802, a delegation of Cherokees interviewed 
Colonel Hawkins and General Pickens, and after demanding the re- 
moyal of certain settlers claimed to be on their lands, asserted the 
boundary of their nation in the direction of the Creeks to be the path 
running from Colonel Easley’s, at High Shoals of the Appalachee, to 
Etowah River. This they had agreed upon in council with the Creeks. 
A delegation of the Creeks, whom they brought with them from the 
council, were then interrogated on the subject by Messrs. Hawkins and 
Pickens, and they replied that the statement of the Cherokees was cor- 
rect. 

In the spring of 1814 (May 15) Agent Meigs had written the Secre- 
tary of War that the Cherokees were sensible that the Creeks ought to 
cede to the United States sufficient land to fully compensate the latter 
for the expenses incurred in prosecuting the Creek war. However, they 
(the Cherokees) were incidentally interested in the arrangements, and 
hoped that the United States would not permit the Creeks to point out 
the specific boundaries of their cession until the division line between 
the two nations had been definitely determined. Ina the following year, 
jn a discussion of the subject with Colonel Hawkins, the Creek agent, 
Colonel Meigs declares that the Cherokees repel the idea entertained by 
the Creeks that the Cherokee or Tennessee River was ever their southern 
boundary. On the contrary, the dividing line between the territories of 
the two nations should.begin at Vann’s Old Store, on the Ocmulgee 
River, thence pursuing such a course as would strike the Coosa River 
below the Ten Islands. This claim was predicated upon the assertion 
that the Cherokees had in the course of three successive wars with the 
Creeks driven them more than a degree of latitude below the point last 








‘Treaty June 1, 1773, between the British superintendent of Indian affairs and the 
Creeks and Cherokees. 
? United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 237. 


268 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


named. Another Cherokee version was to the effect that at a joint 
council of the two nations, held prior to the Revolutionary War, the 
boundary question was a subject of discussion, when it was agreed to 
allow the oldest man in the Creek Nation to determine the point. This 
man was James McQueen, a soldier who had deserted from Oglethorpe’s 
command soon after the settlement of Savannah. MeQueen decided 
that the boundary should be a line drawn across the headwaters of 
Hatchet and Elk Creeks, the former being a branch of the Coosa and 
the latter a tributary of the Tallapoosa. This decision was predicated 
upon the fact that the Cherokees had driven the Creeks below this line, 
and it had been mutually agreed that it should constitute the boundary. 

In contradiction of this it was asserted by the Creeks that in the year 
1818 it had been admitted at a public meeting of the Creeks by ‘‘Sour 
Mush,” a Cherokee chief, that the Creeks owned all the land up to the 
head of Coosa River, including all of its waters; that the Tennessee was 
the Cherokee River, and the territories of the two nations joined on the 
dividing ridge between those rivers. In former times, on the Chatta- 
hoochee, the Cherokees had claimed the country as low down as a 
branch of that river called Choky (Soquee) River. Subsequently they 
were told by the Coweta king, that they might live as low down as the 
Currahee Mountain, but that their young men had now extended their 
claim to Hog Mountain, without however any shadow of right or 
authority.! 

With a view to an amicable adjustment of their respective rights a 
council was held between the chiefs and headmen of the two nations at 
the residence of General William McIntosh, in the Creek country, at 
which a treaty was concluded between themselves on the 11th of De- 
cember, 1820. In the first article of this treaty the boundary line be- 
tween the two nations was fixed as running from the Buzzard’s Roost, 
on the Chattahoochee, in a direct line to the Coosa River, at a point 
opposite the mouth of Wills Town Creek, and thence down the Coosa 

River to a point opposite Fort Strother. This boundary was reaffirmed 
by them in a subsequent treaty concluded October 30, 1822.? 

The Cherokee treaty of 1817 had assumed to cede a tract of country 
‘Beginning at the high shoals of the Appalachy River and running 
thence along the boundary line between the Creek and Cherokee Na- 
tions westwardly to the Chatahouchy River,” ete. 

The Creek treaty of 1818* in turn ceded a tract the northern bound- 
ary of which extended from Suwanee Old Town, on the Chattahoochee, 
to the head of Appalachee River, and which overlapped a considerable 
portion of the Cherokee cession of 1817. 

The Creek treaty of 18214 ceded a tract running as far north as the 
Shallow Ford of the Chattahoochee, which also included a portion of 


1 Letter of D. B. Mitchell, Creek agent, to Secretary of War. 
2See Indian Office files for these two treaties. 

’ United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 171. 

AT Seas elo. 


ROYCE.] TREATY OF DECEMBER 29, 1835. 269 


the territory within the limits of the Cherokee domain, as claimed by 
the latter. 

By the treaty of 1825! with the Creeks they ceded all their remain- 
ing territory in Georgia. Complaint being made that this treaty had 
been entered into by only a smali non-representative faction of that 
nation, an investigation was entered upon by the United States authori- 
ties, and as the result it was determined to declare the treaty void and 
to negotiate a new treaty with them, which was done on the 24th of 
January, 1826.2 

sy this last treaty as amended the Creeks ceded all their land east 
of the Chattahoochee River, as well as a tract north and west of that 
river. In the cession of this latter tract it was assumed that a point 
on Chattahoochee River known as the Buzzard’s Roost was the northern 
limit of the Creek supremacy. 

The authorities of Georgia strongly insisted that not only had the 
treaty of 1525 been legitimately concluded, whereby they were entitled 
to come into possessicn of all the Creek domain within her limits, but 
also that the true line of the Creek limits toward the north had been 
much higher up than would seem to have been the understanding of 
the parties to the treaty of 1826. 

In the following year the Creeks ceded all remaining territory they 
might have within the limits of Georgia.’ This left the only question 
to be decided between the State of Georgia and the Cherokees the one 
of just boundaries between the latter and the country recently acquired 
from the Creeks. 

The War Department had been of the impression that the proper 
boundary between the two nations was a line to be run directly from 
the High Shoals of the Appalachee to the Ten Islands, or Turkeytown, 
ou the Coosa River. On this hypothesis Agent Mitchell, of the Creeks, 
had been instructed, if he could do so, “without exciting their seusi- 
bilities,” to establish it as the northern line of the Creek Nation. 

Georgia, on the contrary, claimed that the proper boundary extended 
from Suwanee Old Town, on the Chattahoochee, to Sixes Old Town, on 
the Etowah River; from thence to the junction of the Etowah and Oos- 
tanaula Rivers, and following the Creek path from that point to Ten- 
nessee River. In pursuance of this claim Governor Forsyth instructed® 
Mr. Samuel A. Wales as the surveyor for that State to proceed to es- 
tablish the line of limits in accordance therewith. Mr. Wales, upon 
commencing operations, was met with a protest from Colonel Montgom- 
ery, the Cherokee agent,® notwithstanding which he continued his op- 
erations in conformity with his original instructions. 





‘United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 237. 

2Tb., p. 289. 

*Ib., p. 307; Creek treaty of November 15, 1827. 

4 Letter of Secretary of War to D. B. Mitchell, Creek agent. 
5 Letter of Governor Forsyth, of Georgia, to Samuel A. Wales, May 5, 1829. 
* Letter of Montgomery to Wales, May 13, 1829. 


270 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


This action of the surveyor having produced a feeling of great excite- 
ment and hostility within the Cherokee Nation, rendering the danger 
of collision and bloodshed imminent, the United States authorities took 
the matter in hand, and, by direction of the President, General John 
Coffee was appointed and instructed! to proceed to the Cherokee Na- 
tion, and from the most reliable information and testimony attainable 
to report what, in his judgment, should in justice and fairness to all 
parties concerned be declared to be the true line of limits between 
Georgia, as the successor of the Creeks, and the Cherokee Nation. 

General Coftee proceeded, to the performance of the duty thus as- 
signed him. <A large mass of testimony and tradition on the subject 
was evoked, in summing up which General Coffee reported? to the Sece- 
retary of War that the line of demarkation between the two nations 
should begin at the lower Shallow Ford of the Chattahoochee, which 
was about 15 miles below the Suwanee Old Town. From thence the 
line should run westwardly in a direction to strike the ridge dividing 
the waters running into Little River (a branch of the Hightower or 
Etowah) from those running into Sweet Water Creek (a branch of the 
Chattahoochee emptying about 2 miles below Buzzard’s Roost). From 
this point such ridge should be followed westwardly, leaving all the 
waters falling into Hightower and Coosa Rivers to the right and all 
the waters that run southwardly into Chattahoochee and Tallapoosa 
tivers to the left, until such ridge should intersect the line (which had 
been previously as per agreement of 1821 between the Creeks and Cher- 
okees themselves) run and marked from Buzzard Roost to Wills Creek, 
and thence with this line to the Coosa River opposite the mouth of 
Wills Creek. j 

Two weeks later* General Coffee, in a communication to the Secre- 
tary of War, alludes to the dissatisfaction of Georgia with the line as 
determined by him, and her claim to an additional tract of territory by 
remarking that “I have thought it right to give this statement for your 
own and the eye of the President only, that you may the better appre- 
ciate the character of the active agents and partisans of the Georgia 
claim, for really I cannot see any reasonable or plausible evidence on 
which she rests her claim.” 

The President, after a careful examination of the testimony and much 
solicitnde upon the subject, decided to approve General Coffee’s recom- 
mendation. The Cherokee agent was therefore directed‘ to notify all 
white settlers living north of Coffee’s line to remove at once. The gov- 
ernor of Georgia was also notified of the President’s decision, and, 
though strongly and persistently protesting against it, the President 





1 October 10, 1829. 

2 December 30, 1829. 
8 January 15, 1830, 

4 March 14, 1830. 


ROYCE | TREATY OF DECEMBER 2), 1835. PAO 


firmly refused to revoke his action.!. The Cherokees were equally dis- 
satisfied with the decision, because the line was not fixed as far south 
as Buzzard’s Roost, in accordance with the agreement of 1821 between 
themselves and the Creeks.” 





' Secretary of War to Governor Gilmer, of Georgia, June 1, 1830. 

* The following paper, which is on file in the Office of Indian Affairs, is interesting 
in connection with the subject matter of this boundary : 

Extract from treaties and other documents relative to the Cherokee lines in con- 
tact with the Creeks and Chickasaws west of Coosa River: 

« June 10, 1786.—In the treaty of this date with the Chickasaws the lands allotted 
them eastwardly ‘shall be the lands allotted to the Choctaws and Cherokees to live 
and hunt on.’ In the conference which took place between the commissioners of the 
United States and the Chickasaws and Cherokees, it was apparent that their claims 
conflicted with each other on the ridge dividing the waters of Cumberland from those 
of Duck River and around to the Chickasaw Oldtown Creek on Tennessee, thence 
southwardly, leaving the mountains above the Muscle Shoals on the south side of the 
river, and to a large stone or flat rock, where the Choctaw line joined with the Chicka- 
saws. The journal of occurrences at the time were lodged with the papers of the 
old Congress, and probably were transferred to the office of Secretary of State. On 
the 7th of January, 1506, in a convention between the United States and Cherokees, 
on the part of the former by Mr. Dearborn, the United States engaged to use their 
best endeavors to fix a boundary between the Cherokees and Chickasaws, ‘ beginning 
at the mouth of Caney Creek, near the lower part of the Muscle Shoals, and to run 
up the said creek to its head, and in a direct line from thence to the flat stone or 
rock, the old corner boundary,’ the line between the Creeks and Cherokees east of 
Coosau River. 

“Tn 1802, at the treaty of Fort Wilkinson, it was agreed between the parties that the 
line was ‘from the High Shoals on Apalatche, the old path, leaving Stone Mountain 
to the Creeks, to the shallow ford on the Chatahoochee.’ 

“This agreement was in presence of the commissioners of the United States and 
witnessed by General Pickens and Colonel Hawkins. On the 10th October, 1809, a 
letter was sent from the Cherokees to the Creeks and received in February in the 
public square at Tookaubatche, stating the line agreed upon at Fort Wilkinson, and 
that ‘all the waters of Etowah down to the ten islands below Turkeytown these 
lands were given up to the Cherokees at a talk at Chestoe in presence of the Little 
Prince, and Tustunnuggee Thlucco Chulioah, of Turkeystown, was the interpreter.’ 

“Tn August, 1814, at the treaty of Fort Jackson, the Creeks and Cherokees were in- 
vited to settle their claims, and Colonel Meigs was engaged for three or four days in 
aiding them to do so. The result was they could not agree, but would at some con- 
venient period agree. This was signed by General Jackson, Colonel Hawkins, and 
Colonel Meigs. 

“At the convention with the Creeks, in September, 1815, the Cherokees manifested 
a sincere desire to settle their boundaries with the Creeks, but the latter first declined 
and then refused. Tustunnuggee Thlucco, being asked where their boundary was 
west of Coosau, said there never was any boundary fixed and known as such between the 
parties, and after making Tennessee the boundary from tradition, and that the Chero- 
kees obtained leave of them to cross it, the policy of the Creeks receiving all de- 
stroyed red people in their confederacy, the Cherokees were permitted to come over 
and settle as low down on the west of Coosan as Hauluthee Hatchee, from thence on 
the west side of Coosau on all its waters to its source. He has never heard, and he 
has examined all his people who can have any knowledge on the subject, that the 
Cherokees had any pretensions lower down Coosau on that side. He does not believe, 
and he has never heard, there was any boundary agreed upon between them. Being 
asked by Celonel Hawkins his opinion where the boundary should be, he says it 


ZZ CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 
CHEROKEES PLEAD WITH CONGRESS AND THE PRESIDENT FOR JUSTICE. 


A delegation of the Cherokees, with John Ross at their head, was 
quartered in Washington during the greater part of the winter of 
183233, bringing to bear in behalf of their nation every possible in- 
fluence upon both Congress and the Executive. A voluminous corre- 
spondence was conducted between them and the War Department upon 
the subject of their proposed removal. In a communication on the 28th 
of January, 1833, they ask leave to say that, notwithstanding the various 
perplexities which the Cherokee people had experienced under the 
course of policy pursued toward them, they were yet unshaken in their 
objections to a removal west of the Mississippi River. On the question 
of their rights and the justice of their cause, their minds were equally 
unchangeable. They were, however, fully sensible that justice and 
weakness could not control the array of oppressive power, and that in 
the calamitous effects of such power, already witnessed, they could not 
fail to foresee with equal clearness that a removal to the west would 
be followed in a few years by consequences no less fatal. 

They therefore suggested for the consideration of the President, 
whether it would not be practicable for the Government to satisfy the 
claims of Georgia by granting to those of her citizens who had in the 
lotteries of that State drawn lots of land within Cherokee limits other 
should go up Hauluthee Hatchee, passing a level of good land between two mount- 
ains, to the head of Itchau Hatchee, and down the same to Tennessee, about 8 or 9 
miles above Nickajack. In the year 1798 the Cherokees had a settlement at the Mus- 
cle Shoals, Doublehead and Katagiskee were the chiefs, and the Creeks had a small 
settlement above the Creek path on Tennessee. The Cherokee settlement extended 
southwardly from the shoal probably a mile and a half. The principal temporary 
agent for Indian affairs south.of the Ohio was early instructed in 1777 to ascertain 
the boundary line of the four nations, and instructions were given accordingly by 
him to Mr. Dinsmore and Mr. Mitcbell to aid in doing it. Several attempts were 
made, but all proved abortive, owing to the policy of the Creeks, which was to 
unite the four nations in one confederacy and the national affairs of all to be in a 
convention to be held annually among the Creeks, where the speaker for the Creeks 
should preside. 

‘CAt every attempt made among the Creeks when these conventions met, the answer 
was, ‘We have no dividing lines, nor never had, between us. We have lines only 
between us and the white people, our neighbors.’ At times, when the subject was 
discussed in the convention of the Creeks, they claimed Tombigby, called by them 
Choctaw River (Choctau Hatchee), the boundary line between them and the Choc- 
taws. Tustunneggee Hopoie, brother of the old Efau Hajo (mad dog), who died at 
ninety-six years of age, and retained strength of memory and intelligence to this 
great age, reported publicly to the agent, ‘When he was a boy his father’s hunting 
camp was at Puttauchau Hatchee (Black Warrior).’ His father had long been at the 
head of the Creeks, and always told him ‘Choctaw River was their boundary with 
the Choctaws.’ He never saw a Choctaw hunting camp on this side the Black War- 
TLOY,. 

“A true copy from the original. 


“PHIL. HAWKINS, JR., 
MAst. A. Ty A.” 


RoYcr.] TREATY ‘OF DECEMBER 29, 1835. 273 


lands of the United States lying within the Territories and States of 
the Union, or in some other way. 

The President urges their assent to removal.—The Secretary of War, in 
replying for the President (February 2, 1833), was unable to see that any 
practicable plan could be adopted by which the reversionary rights 
held under the State of Georgia could be purchased upon such terms 
as would justify the Government in entering into a stipulation to that 
effect. Nor would it at all remove the difficulties and embarrassments 
of their condition. They would still be subject to the laws of Georgia, 
surrounded by white settlements and exposed to all those evils which 
had always attended the Indian race when placed in immediate contact 
with the white population. It was only by removing from these sur- 
roundings that they could expect to avoid the fate which had already 
swept away so many Indian tribes. 

Rep'y of John Ross.—Ross retorted, in a communication couched in 
diplomatic language, that it was with great diffidence and deep regret 
he felt constrained to say, that in this scheme of Indian removal he 
could see more of expediency and policy to get rid of the Cherokees 
than to perpetuate their race upon any permanent, fundamental prin- 
ciple. If the doctrine that Indian tribes could not exist contiguous to 
a white population should prevail, and they should be compelled to 
remove west of the States and Territories of this republic, what was to 
prevent a similar removal of them from there for the same reason ? 

Without securing any promises of relief, and without reaching any 
definite understanding with the executive authorities of the Govern- 
ment, the delegation left for their homes in March, 1833. They agreed, 
however, to lay before their national council in the ensuing May a prop- 
osition made to them by the President, offering to pay them $2,500,000 
in goods for their lands, with the proviso that they should remove them- 
selves at-their own expense.! This proposition, it is hardly necessary 
to remark, was not favorably considered by the council, though the 
Secretary of War designated? Mr. Benjamin I’. Curry to attend the 
meeting and urge its acceptance. 

Alleged attempted bribery of John Ross.—In this connection a story 
having been given currency that the Government had offered Chief 
Ross a bribe, provided he would secure the conclusion of a treaty of 
cession and removal, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs denied it as 
being “utterly without foundation, and one of those vile expedients 
that unprincipled men sometimes practice to accomplish an evil pur- 
pose,” and as being “too ineredible to do much injury.”’ While this 
story was perhaps without solid foundation in fact, its improbability 
would possibly have been more evident but for the fact that only five 
years earlier the Secretary of War had appointed secret agents and 

‘Letter of Secretary of War to Governor Lumpkin, of Georgia, March 12, 1833. 

* March 21, 1833. 

*Commissioner of Indian Affairs to Agent Montgomery, April 22, 1833. 

o ETH 18 





27-4 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


authorized them to expend $2,000 in bribing the chiefs for this very 
purpose, and had made his action in this respect a matter of public 
record. 


CHEROKEES PROPOSE AN ADJUSTMENT. 


In January, 1834, a few weeks after the assembling of Congress, the 
Cherokee delegation again arrived in Washington.' Sundry inter- 
views and considerable correspondence with the War Department 
seemed barren of results or even hope. The delegation submitted? a 
proposition for adjustment in another form. Remarking upon their 
feeble numbers, and surrounded as they were by a nation so powerful 
as the United States, they could not but clearly see, they said, that their 
existence and permanent welfare as a people must depend upon that 
relation which should eventually lead to an amalgamation with the 
people of the United States. As the prospects of securing this object 
collectively, in their present location in the character of a territorial or 
State government, seemed to be seriously opposed and threatened by 
the States interested in their own aggrandizement, and as the Chero- 
kees had refused, and would never voluntarily consent, to remove west 
of the Mississippi, the question was propounded whether the Govern- 
ment would enter into an arrangement on the basis of the Cherokees 
becoming prospectively citizens of the United States, provided the 
former would cede to the United States a portion of their territory for 
the use of Georgia; and whether the United States would agree to 
have the laws and treaties executed and enforced for the effectual pro- 
tection of the Cherokees on the remainder of their territory for a defi- 
nite period, with the understanding that upon the expiration of that 
period the Cherokees were to be subjected to the laws of the States 
within whose limits they might be, and to take an individual standing 
as citizens thereof, the same as other free citizens of the United States, 
with liberty to dispose of their surplus lands in such manner as might 
be agreed upon. 

Cherokee proposals declined.—The reply® to this proposition was that 
the President did not see the slightest hope of a termination to the em- 
barrassments under which the Cherokees labored except in their re- 
moval to the country west of the Mississippi. 

Proposal of Andrew Ross.—In the mean time* Andrew Ross, who was 
a member of the Cherokee delegation, suggested to the Commissioner 
of Indian Affairs that if he were authorized so to do he would proceed 
to the Cherokee country and bring a few chiefs or respectable individ- 
uals of the nation to Washington, with whom a treaty could be effected 
for the cession of the whole or part of the Cherokee territory. His plan 





: raaaiens of War to Governor Lumpkin, of Georgia, January 28, 1834. 
2March 28, 1834. 

3May 1, 1834. 

4March 3, 1834. 


ROYCE, ] TREATY OF DECEMBER 29, 1335. Ao 


was approved, with the understanding that if a treaty should be con- 
cluded the expenses of the delegation would be paid by the United 
States. Ross succeeded in assembling some fifteen or twenty Cherokees 
at the Cherokee agency, all of whom were favorable to the scheme of 
emigration. Under the self-styled appellation of a committee, they pro- 
ceeded to appoint a chief and assistant chief in the persons of William 
Hicks and John McIntosh, and selected eight of their own number as 
the remainder of the delegation to visit Washington.’ 

Protest of John Ross and thirteen thousand Cherokees.—U pon their ar- 
rival Hon. J. H. Eaton was designated2 to conduct the negotiations 
with them. During the pendency of the negotiations Mr. Eaton ad- 
vised John Ross of the purpose in view and solicited his co- -operation 
in the scheme. Mr. Ross refused * this proposal with much warmth, 
and took occasion to add in behalf of the Cherokee Nation that “in the 
face of Heaven and earth, before God and man, I most solemnly pro- 
._ test against any treaty whatever being entered into with those of 
whom you say one is in progress so as to affect the rights and interests 
of the Cherokee Nation east of the Mississippi River.” 

Chief Ross also presented a protest, alleged to have been signed by 
more than thirteen thousand Cherokees, against the negotiation of such 
a treaty. 

Preliminary treaty concluded with Andrew Ross et al.—Disregarding 
the protest of Chief Ross and distrusting the verity of that purporting 
to have been so numerously signed in the nation, the negotiations 
proceeded, and a treaty or agreement was concluded on the 19th day of 
June, 1834. The treaty provided for the opening of emigrant enrolling 
books, with a memorandum heading declaring the assent of the sub- 
seriber to a treaty yet to be concluded with the United States based 
upon the terms previously offered by the President, covering a cession 
and removal, and with the proviso that if no such subsequent treaty 
should be concluded within the next few months then the subscribers: 
would cede to the United States all their right and interest in the 
Cherokee lands east of the Mississippi. In consideration of this they 
were to be removed and subsisted for one year at the expense of the 
United States, to receive the ascertained value of their improvements, 
and to be entitled to all such stipulations as should thereafter be made 
in favor of those who should not then remove. 

The treaty, however, failed of ratification, though the enrolling books 
were opened‘ and a few of the Cherokees entered their names for em- 
gration. 

CHEROKEES MEMORIALIZE CONGRESS. 

While the negotiations leading up to the conclusion of this treaty 

were in progress John Ross and his delegation, finding no disposition 





| Letter of John Ross and others to Secretary of War, inclosing protest, May 24, 1834. 
* Letter of Hon. J. H. Eaton to John Ross, May 26, 1834. 
3May 29, 1834. 

*Seeretary of War to governer of Georgia, July 8, 1834. 


276 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


on the part of the executive authority to enter into a discussion of 
Cherokee affairs predicated upon any other basis than an abandonment 
by them of their homes and country east of the Mississippi, presented? 
a memorial to Congress complaining of the injuries done them and 
praying forredress. Without affecting to pass judgment on the merits 
of the controversy, the writer thinks this memorial well deserving of re- 
production here as evidencing the devoted and pathetic attachment with 
which the Cherokees clung to the land of their fathers, and, remembering 
the wrongs and humiliations of the past, refused to be convinced that 
justice, prosperity, and happiness awaited them beyond the Mississippi. 


The memorial of the Cherokee Nation respectfully showeth, that they approach 
your honorable bodies as the representatives of the people of the United States, in- 
trusted by them under the Constitution with the exercise of their sovereign power, to 
ask for protection of the rights of your memorialists and redress of their grievances. 

They respectfully represent that their rights, being stipulated by numerous solemn 
treaties, which guaranteed to them protection, and guarded as they supposed by laws 
enacted by Congress, they had hoped that the approach of danger would be pre- 
vented by the interposition of the power of the Executive charged with the execu- 
iion of treaties and Jaws; and that when their rights should come in question they 
would be finally and authoritatively decided by the judiciary, whose decrees it 
would be the duty of the Executive to see carried into effect. For many years these 
their just hopes were not disappointed. 

The publie faith of the United States, solemnly pledged to them, was duly kept in 
form and substance. Happy under the parental guardianship of the United States, 
they applied themselves assiduously and successfully to learn the lessons of civiliza- 
tion and peace, which,in the prosecution of a humane and Christian policy, the , 
United States caused to be taught them. Of the advances they have made under the 
inflnence of this benevolent system, they might a few years ago have been tempted 
to speak with pride and satisfaction and with grateful hearts to those who have 
been their instructors. They could have pointed with pleasure to the houses they 
had built, the improvements they had made, the fields they were cultivating; they 
could hays exhibited their domestic establishments, and shown how from wandering 
in the forests many of them had become the heads of families, with fixed habitations, 

each the center of a domestic cirele like that which forms the happiness of civilized 
man. They could have shown, too, how the arts of industry, human knowledge, and 
letters had been introduced amongst them, and how the highest of all the knowledge 
had come to bless them, teaching them to know and to worship the Christian’s God, 
bowing down to Him at the same seasons and in the same spirit with millions of His 
creatures who inhabit Christendom, and with them embracing the hopes and promises 
of the Gospel. 

But now each of these blessings has been made to them an instrument of the keen- 
est torture. Cupidity has fastened its eye upon their lands and their homes, and is 
seeking by force and by every variety of oppression and wrong to expel them from 
their lands and their homes and to tear them from all that has become endeared to 
them. Of what they have already suffered it is impossible for them to give the de- 
tails, as they would make a history. Of what they are menaced with by unlawful 
power, every citizen of the United States who reads the public journals is aware. In 
this their distress they hay appealed to the judiciary of the United States, where their 
rights have been solemnly established. They have appealed to the Executive of the 
United States to protect these rights according to the obligations of treaties and the 
injunctions of the laws. But this appeal to the Executive has been made in vain. 





‘May 17, 1834. 





ROYCE. ] TREATY OF DECEMBER 29, 1335. 277 


Tn the hope that by yielding something of their clear rights they might succeed in 
obtaining security for the remainder, they have lately opened a correspondence with 
the Executive, offering to make a considerable cession from what had been reserved 
to them by solemn treaties, only upon condition that they might be protected in the 
part not ceded. But their earnest supplication has been unheeded, and the only an- 
swer they can get, informs them, in substance, that they must be left to their fate, or 
renounce the whole. What that fate is to be unhappily is too plain. 

The State of Georgia has assumed jurisdiction over them, has invaded their terri- 
tory, has claimed the right to dispose of their lands, and has actually proceeded to 
dispose of them, reserving only a small portion to individuals, and even these por- 
tions are threatened and will no doubt, soon be taken from them. Thus the nation 
is stripped of its territory and individuals of their property without the least color of 
right, and in open violation of the guarantee of treaties. At the same time the 
Cherokees, deprived of the protection of their own government and laws, are left 
withont the protection of any other laws, outlawed as it were and exposed to indigni- 
ties, imprisonment, persecution, and eyen to death, though they have committed no 
offense whatever, save and except that of seeking to enjoy what belongs to them, 
and refusing to yield it up to those who have no pretense of title toit. Of the acts 
of the legislature of Georgia your memorialists will endeavor to furnish copies to 
your honorable bodies, and of the doings of individuals they will furnish evidence if 
required. And your memorialists further respectfully represent that the Executive 
of the United States has not only refused to protect your memorialists against the 
wrongs they have suffered and are still suffering at the hands of unjust cupidity, but 
has done much more. It is but too plain that, for several years past, the power of 
the Executive has been exerted on the side of their oppressors and is co-operating 
with them inthe work of destruction. Of two particulars in the conduct of the Ex- 
ecutive your memorialists would make mention, not merely as matters of evidence 
but as specific subjects of complaint in addition to the more general ones already 
stated. 

The first of these is the mode adopted to oppress and injure your memorialists under 
color of enrollments for emigration. Unfit persons are introduced as agents, acts are 
practiced by them that are unjust, unworthy, and demoralizing, and have no object 
but to force your memorialists to yield and abandon their rights by making their lives 
intolerably wretched. They forbear to go into particulars, which nevertheless they 
are prepared, at a proper time, to exhibit. 

The other is calculated also to weaken and distress your memorialists, and is essen- 
tially unjust. Heretofore, until within the last four years, the money appropriated 
by Congress for annuities has been paid to the nation, by whom it was distributed and 
used for the benefit of the nation. And this method of payment was not only sanc- 
tioned by the usage of the Government of the United States, but was acceptable to the 
Cherokees. Yet, without any cause known to your memorialists, and contrary to 
their just expectations, the payment has heen withheld for the period just mentioned, 
on the ground, then for the first time assumed, that the annuities were to be paid, not 
as hitherto, to the nation, but to the individual Cherokees, each his own small 
fraction, dividing the whole according to the numbers of the nation. The fact is, that 
for the last four years the annuities have not been paid at all. 

The distribution in this new way was impracticable, if the Cherokees had been 
willing thus to receive it, but they were not willing ; they have refused and the an- 
nuities have remained unpaid. Your memorialists forbear to advert to the motives 
of such conduct, leaving them to be considered and appreciated by Congress. All 
they will say is, that it has coincided with other measures adopted to reduce them 
to poverty and despair and to extort from their wretchedhess a concession of their 
guaranteed rights. Having failed in their efforts to obtain relief elsewhere, your 
memorialists now appeal to Congress, and respectfully pray that your honorable bodies 
will look into their whole case, and that such measures may be adopted as will give 
them redress and security. 


278 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 
TREATY NEGOTIATIONS RESUMED, 


Rival delegations headed by Ross and Ridge-—But little else was done 
and practically nothing was accomplished until the following winter. 
Barly in February, 1835, two rival delegations, each claiming to repre- 
sent the Cherokee Nation, arrived in Washington. One was headed 
by John Ross, who had long been the principal chief and who was the 
most intelligent and influential man in the nation. The rival delega- 
tion was led by John Ridge, who had been a subchief and a man of 
some considerable influence among his people. The Ross delegation 
had been consistently and bitterly opposed to any negotiations having 
in view the surrender of their territory and a removal west of the 
Mississippi. Ridge and his delegation, though formerly of the same 
mind with Ross, had begun to perceive the futility of further opposi- 
tion to the demands of the State and national authorities. Feeling 
the certainty that the approaching crisis in Cherokee affairs could have 
but one result, and perceiving an opportunity to enhance his own im- 
portance and to secure the discomfiture of his hitherto more powerful 
rival, Ridge caused it to be intimated to the United States authorities 
that he and his delegation were prepared to treat with them upon the 
basis previously laid down by President Jackson of a cession of their 
territory and a removal west. 

tey. J. I. Sechermerhorn was therefore appointed,’ and instructions 
were prepared authorizing him to meet Ridge and his party and to ascer- 
tain on what terms an amicable and satisfactory arrangement could be 
made. After the instructions had been delivered to Mr. Schermerhorn, 
but before he had commenced the negotiation, Ross and his party re- 
quested to be allowed to make a proposal to be submitted to the Presi- 
dent for his approval. He was assured that his proposal would be 
considered, and in the mean time Mr. Schermerhorn was requested to 
suspend his operations. So much time, however, elapsed before any- 
thing more was heard from Ross and his party that the negotiations with 
the Ridge party were proceeded with. They terminated in a general 
understanding respecting the basis of an arrangement, leaving, how- 
ever, many of the details to be filled up. The total amount of the 
various stipulations provided for, as a full consideration for the cession 
of their lands, was $3,250,000, besides the sum of $150,000 for depreda- 
tion claims. In addition, a tract of 800,000 acres of land west of the 
Mississippi was to be added to the territory already promised them, 
amounting in the aggregate, including the western outlet, to about 
13,500,000 acres.* 


uel Gunter, and William Rogers. The Ridge delegation consisted of John Ridge, 
William A. Davis, Elias Boudinot, A. Smith, 8. W. Beli, and J. West. 

2February 11, 1835, 

’Memorandum delivered by Secretary of War to Senator King, of Georgia, Feb- 
ruary 28, 1835. 


ROYCE. | TREATY OF DECEMBER 29, 1835. 209 


Proposition of John Ross.—On the 25th of February, Rossand his dele- 
gation, finding that the negotiations with Ridge were proceeding, sub- 
mitted a proposition for removal based upon an allowance of $20,000,000 
for the cession of the territory and the payment of a class of claims of 
nneertain number and value. This was considered so unreasonable as 
to render the seriousness of his proposition doubtful at the time, but it 
was finally modified by an assertion of his willingness to accept such 
sum as the Senate of the United States should declare to be just and 
proper.! Thereupon a statement of all the facts was placed in the 
hands of Senator King, of Georgia, who submitted the same to the Sen- 
ate Committee on Indian Affairs on the 2d of March. It was uot con- 
templated that any arrangement made with these Cherokee delegations 
at this time should be definitive, but that the Cherokee people should be 
assembled for the purpose of considering the subject, and their assent 
asked to such propositions as they might deem satisfactory. 

Resolution of United States Senate on John Ross’s proposition.—The Sen- 
ate gave the matter prompt consideration, and on the 6th of March the 
Secretary of War advised Mr. Ross that by aresolution they had stated 
their opinion that ‘‘ a sum not exceeding $5,000,000 should be paid to the 
Cherokee Indians for all their lands and possessions east of the Missis- 
sippi River,’ and he was invited to enter into negotiations upon that 
basis, but declined to do so. 

Preliminary treaty concluded with the Ridge party.—The treaty between 
Schermerhorn and the Ridge party was thereupon completed with some 
modifications and duly signed on the 14th of March, but with the ex- 
press stipulation that it should receive the approval of the Cherokee 
people in full council assembled before being considered of any binding 
force. The consideration was changed to read $4,500,000 and 800,000 
acres of additional land, but in the main its provisions differed but little 
in the important objects sought to be secured from those contained in 
the treaty as finally concluded, December 29, 1835. 

Schermerhorn and Carroll appointed to complete the treaty.—In the 
mean time,? two days after the conclusion of the preliminary Ridge 
treaty, President Jackson issued an address to the Cherokees, inviting 
them to a calm consideration of their condition and prospects, and urg- 
ing upon them the benefits certain to inure to their nation by the ratifica- 
tion of the treaty just concluded and their removal to the western country. 
This address was intrusted to Rev. J. F. Schermerhorn and General Will- 
iam Carroll, whom the President had appointed on the 2d of April as 
commissioners to complete in the Cherokee country the negotiation of 
the treaty. 

General Carroll being unable on account of ill-health to proceed from 
Nashville to the Cherokee Nation, Mr. Schermerhorn was compelled to 
assume the responsibilities of the negotiation alone. The entire suin- 








‘Memorandum delivered by Secretary of War to Senator King, of Georgia, February 
28, 1835. 
2 March 16, 1835. 


280 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


mer and fall were spent in endeavors to reconcile differences of opinion, 
to adjust feuds among the different factions of the tribe, and to secure 
some definitive and consolidated action. Meeting with no substantial 
encouragement, he suggested, in a communication to the Secretary of 
War,! two alternative propositions, by either of which a treaty might 
be secured. 

These propositions were: (1) That the appraising agents of the Gov- 
ernment should ascertain from influential Cherokees their own opinion 
of the value of their improvements, and promise them the amount, if 
this estimate should be in any degree reasonable, and if they would 
take a decided stand in favor of the treaty and conclude the same. (2) 
To conclude the treaty with a portion of the nation only, should one 
with the whole be found impracticable, and compel the acquiescence 
of the remainder in its provisions. 

He was at once” advised of the opposition of the President to any 
such action. Ifa treaty could not be concluded upon fair and open 
terms, he must abandon the effort and leave the nation to the conse- 
quences of its own stubbornness. He must make no particular promise 
to any individual, high or low, to gain his co-operation. ‘The interest of 
the whole must not be sacrificed to the cupidity of a few, and if a treaty 
was concluded at all it must be one that would stand the test of the 
most rigid scrutiny. 

The Ridge treaty rejected.—The Cherokee people in full council at 
Red Clay, in the following October, rejected the Ridge treaty. Mr. 
John Ridge and Elias Boudinot, who had been the main stay and sup- 
port cf Mr. Schermerhorn in the preceding negetiations, at this council, 
through fear or duplicity and unexpectedly to him, abandoned their 
support of his measures and coincided with the preponderance of Chero- 
kee sentiment on the subject. In his report of this failure to bring the 
negotiations to a successful termination Commissioner Schermerhorn 
says: “I have pressed Ross so hard by the course I have adopted that 
although he got the general council to pass a resolution declaring that 
they would not treat on the basis of the $5,000,000, yet he has been forced 
to bring the nation to agree to a treaty, here or at Washington. They 
have used every effort to get by me and get to Washington again this 
winter. They dare not yet do it. You will perceive Ridge and his 
friends have taken apparently a strange course. I believe he began to 
be discouraged in contending with the power of Ross; and perhaps also 
considerations of personal safety have had their influence, but the Lord 
is able to overrule all things for good.” 

Council at New Echota.—During the session of this council notice was 
given to the Cherokees to meet the United States commissioners on 
the third Monday in December following, at New Echota, for the pur- 


‘September 10, 1835. 
“September 26, 1835. 
®Senate Document 120, Twenty-fifth Congress, second session, p. 124. 


ROYCE. | TREATY OF DECEMBER 2), 1835. 281 


pose of negotiating and agreeing upon the terms of a treaty. The no- 
tice was also printed in Cherokee and cireulated throughout the nation, 
informing the Indians that those who did not attend would be counted 
as assenting to any treaty that might be made.' In the mean time 
the Ross delegation, authorized by the Red Clay council to conclude a 
treaty either there or at Washington, finding that Schermerhorn had 
no authority to treat on any other basis than the one rejected by the 
nation, proceeded, according to their people's instructions, to Washing- 
ton. Previous to their departure, John Ress was arrested. This took 
place immediately upon the breaking up of the council. He was de- 
tained some time under the surveillance of a strong guard, without any 
charge against him, and ultimately released without any apology or ex- 
planation. At this arrest all his papers were seized, including as well 
all his private correspondence and the proceedings of the Cherokee 
council.’ In accordance with the call for a council at New Echota 
the Indians assembled at the appointed time and place, to the number 
of only three to five hundred, as reported? by Mr. Schermerhorn him- 
self, who could hardly be accused of any tendency to underestimate the 
gathering. That gentleman opened the council December 22, 1835, in 
the absence of Governor Carroll, whose health was still such as to pre- 
vent his attendance. The objects of the council were fully explained, 
the small attendance being attributed to the influence of John Ross. 
It was also suggested by those unfriendly to the proposed treaty as a 
good reason for the absence of so large a proportion of the nation, that 
the right to convene a national council was vested in the principal 
chief, and they were unaware that that officer’s authority had been del- 
egated to Mr. Schermerhorn.? 

Those present resolved on the 23d to enter into negotiations and ap- 
pointed a committee of twenty to arrange the details with the Commis- 
sioner and to report the result to the whole council. 

The following five days were occuqied by the commissioner and the 
committee in discussing and agreeing upon the details of the treaty, 
one point of difference being as to whether the $5,000,000 consideration 
for their lands as mentioned in the resolution of the Senate was meant 
to include the damages to individual property sustained at the hands 
of white trespassers. 

The Indians insisted that $300,000 additional should be allowed for 
that purpose, but it was finally agreed that the treaty should not be 
presented to the Senate without the consent of their delegation until 
they were satisfied the Senate had not included these claims in the sum 
named in the resolution of that body. It was also insisted by the Cher- 
okee committee that reservations should be made to such of their people 





‘See proceedings of council. 
* National Intelligencer, May 22, 1838. 
* Schermerhorn to Commissioner of Indian Affairs, December 31, 1835. 


282 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


as desired to remain in their homes and become citizens of the United 
States. 

As a compromise of this demand, it was agreed by the United States 
commissioner to allow pre-emptions of 160 acres each, not exceeding 
400 in number, in the States of North Carolina, Tennessee, and Ala- 
bama, to such heads of Cherokee families only as were qualified to 
become useful members of society. None were to be entitled to this 
privilege unless their applications were recommended by a committee 
of their own people (a majority of which committee should be composed 
of those members of the tribe who were themselves enrolled for removal) 
and approved by the United States commissioners. The latter also 
proposed to make the reservations dependent upon the approval of the 
legislatures of the States within which they might be respectively 
located, but to this proposition a strenuous objection was offered by the 
Indians. 

The articles as agreed upon were reported by the Cherokee committee 
to their people, and were approved, transcribed, and signed on the 29th. 

The council adjourned on the 30th, after designating a committee to 
proceed to Washington and urge the ratification of the treaty, clothed 
with power to assent to any alterations made necessary by the action 
of the President or Senate.! 

Commissioner Schermerhorn reports conclusion of a treaty.—Immedi- 
ately following the adjournment of the council, Commissioner Schemer- 
horn wrote the Secretary of War, saying: ‘I have the extreme pleasure 
to announce to you that yesterday I concluded a treaty. * * * Ross 
after this treaty is prostrate. The power of the nation is taken from 
him, as well as the money, and the treaty will give general satisfac- 
tion.” ? 

Supplemental treaty coneluded.—Several provisons of the treaty met 
with the disapproval of the President, in order to meet which supple- 
mentary articles of agreement were concluded under date of March 1, 
1836,3 wherein it was stipulated that all pre-emption rights provided 
for should be declared void; also that, in lieu of the same and to cover 
expenses of remoyal and payment of claims against citizens of the 
United States, the sum of $600,000 should be allowed them in addition 
to the five millions allowed for cession of territory. And, furthermore, 
that the $100,000 stipulated to be expended for the poorer class of 
Cherokees who should remove west should be placed to the credit of 
the generai national fund.* 

Opposition of the Ross party.—Whilst these events were happening, 
and strenuous efforts were being made to encourage among Senators a 





'See report of proceedings of council. 

2 National Intelligencer, May 22, 1838. 

3 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 482. 

4In addition to these sums, an appropriation of $1,047,067 was made by the act of 
June 13, 1838, in full of all objects specified in the third supplemental article and for 
the one year’s sub-istence provided for in the treaty. 


ROYCE. ] TREATY OF DECEMBER 29, 1835, 283 


sentiment favorable to the ratification of the treaty, Jolin Ross was 
manifesting his usual zeal and activity in the opposite direction. Early 
in the spring of 1836 he made his appearance in Washington, accom- 
panied by a delegation, and presented two protests against the ratifica- 
tion of the treaty, one purporting to have been signed by Cherokees 
residing within the limits of North Carolina to the number of 3,250, 
and the other representing the alleged sentiments of 12,714 persons 
residing within the main body of the nation. Mr. Ross also demanded 
the payment of the long withheld annuities to himself as the duly au- 
thorized representative of the nation, which was declined unless special 
direction to that effect should be given by an authentic vote of the tribe 
from year to year. He was further assured that the President had 
ceased to recognize any existing government among the Eastern 
Cherokees.! 

Treaty ratified by United States Senate.—In spite of the opposition of 
Mr. Ross and his party, the treaty was assented to by the Senate by 
one more than the necessary two-thirds majority,? and was ratified and 
proclaimed by the President on the 23d of May, 1836.2 By its terms 
two years were allowed within which the nation must remove west of 
the Mississippi. 

Measures for execution of the treaty.— Preparatory steps were promptly 
taken for carrying the treaty into execution. On the 7th of June Gov. 
Wilson Lumpkin, of Georgia, and Gov. William Carroll, of Tennessee, 
were designated as commissioners under the 17th article, and vested 
with general supervisory authority over the execution of the treaty. 
The selection and general supervision (under the foregoing commission- 
ers) of the agents to appraise the value of Cherokee improvements was 
placed in charge of Benjamin F. Curry, to whom detailed instructions 
were given for bis guidance. General John E. Wool was placed in 
command of the United States troops within the Cherokee Nation, but 
with instructions? that military force should only be applied in the 
event of hostilities being commenced by the Cherokees. 

The Ross party refuse to acquiesce—Jobn Ross and his delegation, 
having returned home, at once proceeded to enter upon a vigorous 
campaign of opposition to the execution of the treaty. He used every 
means to incite the animosity of his people against Ridge and his 
friends, who had been instrumental in bringing it about and who were 
favorable to removal. Councils were held and resolutions were adopted 
denouncing in the severest terms the motives and action of the United 
States authorities and declaring the treaty in all its provisions abso- 

‘Commissioner of Indian Affairs to John Ross, March 9, 1836. 

2 Hon. P. M. Butler, in a confidential letter to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 
March 4, 1842, says: “The treaty, as the Department is aware, was sustained by the 
Senate of the United States by a majority of one vote.” 

“United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 478 et seq. 

4 July 25, 1836. 

5 July 30, 1836. 





284 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


lutely null and void.' A copy of these resolutions having been trans- 
mitted to the Secretary of War by General Wool, the former was di- 
rected” by the President to express his astonishment that an officer ot 
the Army should have received or transmitted a paper so disrespectful 
to the Executive, to the Senate, and through them to the people of the 
United States. To prevent any misapprehension on the subject of the 
treaty the Secretary was instructed to repeat in the most explicit terms 
the settled determination of the President that it should be executed 
without modification and with all the dispatch consistent with propriety 
and justice. Furthermore, that after delivering a copy of this letter to 
Mr. Ross no further communication should be held with him either 
orally or in writing in regard to the treaty. 

To give a clearer idea of the actual state of feeling that pervaded the 
Cherokee Nation on the subject of removal, as well as the character of 
the methods that distinguished the negotiators on the part of the 
United States, a few quotations from the letters and reports of those in 
a position to observe the passing events may not be inappropriate. 


REPORT OF MAJOR DAVIS. 


Maj. William M. Davis had been appointed an agent by the Secretary 
of War for the enrollment of Cherokees desirous of removal to the 
West and for the appraisement of the value of theirimprovements. He 
had gone among the Cherokees for this specific purpose. He held his 
appointment by the grace and permission of the President. It was 
natural that his desire should be strongly in the line of securing the 
Executive approval of his labors. 

Strong, however, as was that desire he was unable to bring himself 
to the support of the methods that were being pursued in the negotia- 
tion of the proposed treaty. On the 5th of March following the con- 
clusion of the treaty of 1835, he wrote the Secretary of War thus: 

I conceive that my duty to the President, to yourself, and to my country, reluct- 
antly compels me to make a statement of facts in relation to a meeting of a small 
number of Cherokees at New Echota last December, who were met by Mr. Schermer- 
horn and articles of a general treaty entered into between them for the whole Chero- 
kee Nation. 

* * * Tshould not interpose in the matter at all but I discover that you do not 
receive impartial information on the subject; that you have to depend upon the 
ex parte, partial, and interested reports of a person who will not give you the truth. 
I will not be silent when I see that you are about to be imposed on by a gross and 
base betrayal of the high trust reposed in Rey. J. F. Schermerhorn by you. His con- 
duct and course of policy was a series of blunders from first to last. * * * Tt has 
been wholly of a partisan character. 





1The Secretary of War, October 12, 1836, directed General Wool to inform Mr. Ross 
that the President regarded the proceedings of himself and associates in council as in 
direct contravention of the plighted faith of their people, and a repetition of them 
would be considered as indicative of a design to prevent the execution of the treaty 
even at the hazard of actual hostilities, and they would be promptly repressed. 

2 October 17, 1836, 


ee 


ROYCE. | TREATY OF DECEMBER 29, 1835 285 


Sir, that paper * * * called a treaty is no treaty at all, because not sanctioned 
by the great body of the Cherokees and made without their participation or assent. 
I solemnly declare to you that upon its reference to the Cherokee people it would be 
instantly rejected by nine-tenths of them and I believe by nineteen-twentieths of them. 
There were not present at the conclusion of the treaty more than one hundred Chero- 
kee voters, and not more than three hundred, including women and children, although 
the weather was everything that could be desired. The Indians had long been noti- 
fied of the meeting, and blankets were promised te all who would come and vote for 
the treaty. The most cunning and artful means were resorted to to conceal the 
paucity of numbers preseut at the treaty. No enumeration of them was made by 
Schermerhorn. The business of making the treaty was transacted with a committee 
appointed by the Indians present, so as not to expose their numbers. The power of 
attorney under which the committee acted was signed only by the president and sec- 
retary of the meeting, so as not to disclose their weakness. * * * Mr. Schermer- 
horn’s apparent design was to conceal the real number present and to impose on the 
public and the Government upon this point. The delegation taken to Washington 
by Mr. Schermerhorn had no more authority to make a treaty than any other dozen 
Cherokees accidentally picked up for that purpose. Inow warn you and the President 
that if this paper of Schermerhorn’s called a treaty is sent to the Senate and ratified 
you will bring trouble upon the Government and eventually destroy this (the Chero- 
kee) nation. The Cherokees are a peaceable, harmless people, but you may drive 
them to desperation, and this treaty cannot be carried into effect except-by the strong 
arm of force.! 


ELIAS BOUDINOT’S VIEWS. 


About this time there also appeared, in justification of the treaty and 
of his own action in signing it, a pamphlet address issued by Elias 
Boudinot of the Cherokee Nation. Mr. Boudinot was one of the ablest 
and most cultured of his people, and had long been the editor and pub- 
lisher of a newspaper in the nation, printed both in English and Chero- 
kee. The substance of his argument in vindication of the treaty may 
have been creditable from the standpoint of policy and a regard for the 
future welfare of his people, but in the abstract it is a dangerous doc- 
trine. He said: 

We cannot conceive of the acts of a minority to be so reprehensible ard unjust as 
are represented by Mr. Ross. If one hundred persons are ignorant of their true situa- 
tion and are so completely blinded as not to see the destruction that awaits them, we 
can see strong reasons to justify the action of a minority of fifty persons to dc what 
the majority would do if they understood their condition, to save a nation from po- 
litical thralldom and moral degradation. 2 


SPEECH OF GENERAL R. G. DUNLAP. 


It having been extensively rumored, during the few months imme. 
diately succeeding the conclusion of the treaty, that John Ross and 
other evil disposed persons were seeking to incite the Cherokees to out- 
break and bloodshed, the militia of the surrounding States were called 
into service for the protection of life and property from the supposed 
existing dangers. Brig. Gen. R. G. Dunlap commanded the East 





‘Senate confidential document, April 12, 1836, p. 200. 
* National Intelligencer, May 22, 1838. 





286 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


Tennessee volunteers. In aspeech to his brigade at their disband- 
ment in September, 1836, he used the following language : 

I forthwith visited all the posts within the first three States and gave the Chero- 
kees (the whites needed none) all the protection in my power. * ~ * My course 
has excited the hatred of a few of the lawless rabble in Georgia, who have long played 
the part of unfeeling petty tyrants, and that to the disgrace of the proud character 
of gallant soldiers and good citizens. I had determined that I would never dishonor 
the Tennessee arms in a servile service by aiding to carry into execution at the 
point of the bayonet a treaty made by a lean minority against the will and authority 
of the Cherokee people. * * * Isoon discovered that the Indians had not the 
most distant thought of war with the United States, notwithstanding the common 
rights of humanity and justice had been denied them.! 


REPORT OF GENERAL JOHN E. WOOL, 


Again, February 18, 1837, General John E. Wool, of the United States 
Army, who had been ordered to the command of the troops that were 
being concentrated in the Cherokee country ‘ to look down opposition” 
to the enforcement of the treaty, wrote Adjutant-General Jones, at 
Washington, thus: 

I called them (the Cherokees) together and made a short speech. It is, however, 
vain to talk toa people almost universally opposed to the treaty and who maintain 
that they never made such a treaty. So determined are they in their opposition that 
not one of all those who were present and voted at the council held but a day or two 
since, however poor or destitute, would receive either rations or clothing from the 
United States lest they might compromise themselves in regard to the treaty. These 
same people, as well as those in the mountains of North Carolina, during the summer 
past, preferred living upon the roots and sap of trees rather than receive provisions 
from the United States, and thousands, as I have been informed, had noother food for 
weeks.” 

Four months later,? General Wool again, in the course of a letter to 
the Secretary of War concerning the death of Major Curry, who had 
been a prominent factor in promoting the conclusion of the treaty of 
1835, said that — 


Had Curry lived he would assuredly have been killed by the Indians. It isa truth 
that you have not a single agent, high or low, that has the slightest moral control 
over the Indians. It would be wise if persons appointed to civil stations in the na- 
tion could be taken from among those who have had nothing to do with making the 
late treaty. 

REPORT OF JOHN MASON, JR. 

In further testimony concerning the situation of affairs in the Cher- 
okee Nation at this period, may be cited the report of John Mason, jr., 
who was in the summer of 1837° sent as the confidential agent of the 
War Department to make observations and report. In the autumn* 
of that year he reported that — 

The chiefs and better informed part of the nation are conyinced that they cannot 
retain the country. But the opposition to the treaty is unanimous and irreconcilable. 


! National Intelligencer, May 22, 1838. 
2 June 3, 1837. 

3 July 15, 1837. 

4September 25, 1837. 





ROYCE. ] TREATY OF DECEMBER 29, 1835. 287 


They say it cannot bind them because they did not make it; that it was made by a 
few unauthorized individuals; that the nation is nota party toit. * * * They 
retain the forms of their government in their proceedings among themselves, though 
they have had no election since 1830; the chiefs and headmen then in power having 
been authorized to act until their government shall again be regularly constituted. 
Under this arrangement John Ross retains the post of principal chief. * * * The 
influence of this chief is unbounded and unquestioned. The whole nation of eighteen 
thousand persons is with him, the few, about three hundred, who made the treaty 
having left the country. Itis evident, therefore, that Ross and his party are in fact 
the Cherokee Nation. *~ * * Many who were opposed to the treaty have emigrated 
to secure the rations, or because of fear of an outbreak. * * * The officers say 
that, with all his power, Ross cannot, if he would, change the course he has hereto- 
fore pursued and to which he is held by the fixed determination of his people. He 
dislikes being seen in conversation with white men, and particularly with agents of 
the Government. Were he, as matters now stand, to advise the Indians to acknowl- 
edge the treaty, he would at once forfeit their confidence and probably his life. Yet 
thovgh unwavering in his opposition to the treaty, Ross’s influence has constantly 
been exerted to preserve the peace of the country, and Colonel Lindsay says that 
he (Ross) alone stands at this time between the whites and bloodshed. The opposi- 
tion to the treaty on the part of the Indians is unanimous and sincere, and it is not 
a mere political game played by Ross for the maintenance of his ascendancy in the 
tribe. 


HENRY CLAY’S SYMPATHY WITH THE CHEROKEES. 


It is interesting in this connection, as indicating the strong and wide- 
spread public feeling manifested in the Cherokee question, to note that 
it became in some sense a test question among leaders of the two great 
political parties. The Democrats strenuously upheld the conduct of 
President Jackson on the subject, and the Whigs assailed him with ex- 
treme bitterness. The great Whig leader, Henry Clay, in replying! to 
a letter received by him from John Gunter, a Cherokee, took occasion 
to express his sympathy with the Cherokee people for the wrongs and 
sufferings experienced by them. He regretted them not only because 
of their injustice, but because they inflicted a deep wound on the char- 
acter of the American Republic. He supposed that the principles 
which had uniformly governed our relations with the Indian nations had 
been too long and too firmly established to be disturbed. They had 
been proclaimed in the negotiation with Great Britain by the commis- 
sioners who concluded the treaty of peace, of whom he was one, and any 
violation of them by the United States he felt with sensibility. By 
those principles the Cherokee Nation had a right to establish its own 
form of government, to alter and amend it at pleasure, to live under its 
own laws, to be exempt from the United States laws or the laws of any 
individual State, and to claim the protection of the United States. He 
considered that the Chief Magistrate and his subordinates had acted in 
direct hostility to those principles and had thereby encouraged Georgia 
to usurp powers of legislation over the Cherokee Nation which she did 
not of right possess. 





1 September 30, 1836. 


288 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


POLICY OF THE PRESIDENT CRITICISED—SPEECH OF COL, DAVID CROCKETT. 


Among many men of note who denounced in most vigorous terms the 
policy of the Administration toward the Cherokees were Daniel Webster 
and Edward Everett, of Massachusetts; Theodore Frelinghuysen, of 
New Jersey ; Peleg Sprague, of Maine; Henry R. Storrs, of New York ; 
Henry A. Wise, of Virginia; and David Crockett, of Tennessee. The 
latter, in a speech in the House of Representatives, denounced the treat- 
ment to which the Indians had been subjected at the hands of the Goy- 
ernment as unjust, dishonest, cruel, and short-sighted in the extreme. 
He alluded to the fact that he represented a district which bordered on 
the domain of the southern tribes, and that his constituents were per- 
haps as immediately interested in the removal of the Indians as those 
of any other member of the House. His voice would perhaps not be 
seconded by that of a single fellow member living within 500 miles of 
his home. He had been threatened that if he did not support the 
policy of forcible removal his pudlic career would be summarily cut off. 
But while he was perhaps as desirous of pleasing his constituents and 
of coinciding with the wishes of his colleagues as any man in Congress, 
he could not permit himself to do so at the expense of his honor and 
conscience in the support of such a measure. He believed the Ameri- 
can people could be relied on to approve their Representatives for dar- 
ing, in the face of all opposition, to perform their conscientious duty, 
but if not, the approval of his own conscience was dearer to him than 
all else. 

Governor Lumpkin, immediately upon his appointment as commis- 
sioner, had repaired to the Cherokee country, but Governor Carroll, 
owing to some pending negotiations with the Choctaws and subse- 
quently to ill health, was unable to assume the duties assigned him. 
He was succeeded! by John Kennedy. To this commission a third 
member was added in the summer of 1837? in the person of Colonel 
Guild, who was found to be ineligible, however, by reason of being a 
member of the Tennessee legislature. His place was supplied by the 
appointment? of James W. Gwin, of North Carolina. 

On the 22d of December James Liddell was also appointed, vice Gov- 
ernor Lumpkin resigned. * 





1 October 25, 1836. 

2Secretary of War to Andrew Jackson, August 21, 1837. 

®> October 16, 1837. ; 

+The amounts adjudicated and paid by this commission, as shown by the records 
of the Indian Office (see Commissioner of Indian Affairs’ letter of March 7, 1844), 
were as follows: 











1; Forimprovementsies = tase eee eee ec een eee eee ere eee $1, 683, 192 774 
2. Spoliations sexe ecsice ree oe ee a sere Sees Rees Eee eee een 416, 306 824 
3 Nationalidebts due’ to! Cherokees. 222 = -2e ee soe eee eee eee 19, 058 14 
4. National debts due to citizens of the United States ..-......-..-- 51,642 87 
5, ROServablOUs sii occas t erie pe eee See tee eet ae 159, 324 &7 
Totals o< Ja... chadencee Soeane cect eee pee ee eee eee 2, 329,524 86 


(The figures as given here are correctly copied from the commissioner’s letter, but 
there is an obvious error either in the footing or in the items. ) 


 —_— 


norcr.] TREATY OF DECEMBER 29, 1835. 289 


Superintendent Currey having died, General Nathan Smith was ap- 
pointed ! to succeed him as superintendent of emigration. 

Census of Cherokee Nation.—lt appears from a statement about this 
time,” made by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, that from a census 
of the Cherokees, taken in the year 1835, the number residing in the 
States of Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama, and Tennessee was 16,542, 
exclusive of slaves and of whites intermarried with Cherokees.’ 

In May, 1837,‘ General Wool was relieved from command at his own 
request, and his successor, Col. William Lindsay, was instructed to ar- 
rest John Ross and turn him over to the civil authorities in case he did 
anything further calculated to excite a spirit of hostility among the 
Cherokees on the subject of removal. This threat, however, seemed to 
have little effect, for we find Mr. Ross presiding over a general council, 
convened at his instigation, on the 3lst of July, to attend which the 
Government hastily dispatched Mr. John Mason, jr., with instructions 
to traverse and correct any misstatements of the position of the United 
States authorities that might be set forth by Ross and his followers. 
An extract from Mr. Mason’s report has already been given. 

Cherokee memorial in Congress.—Again, in the spring of 1838 Ross 
laid before Congress a protest and memorial for the redress of griey- 
ances, which, in the Senate, was laid upon the table® by a vote of 36 
to 10, and a memorial from citizens of New York involving an in- 
quiry into the validity of the treaty of 1835 shared a similar fate in the 
House of Representatives two days later by a vote of 102 to 75. 

Speech of Henry A. Wise—The discussion of these memorials in 
Congress took a wide range and excited the warmest interest, not only 
in that body, but throughout the country. The speeches were charac- 
terized by a depth and bitterness of feeling such as had never been ex- 
ceeded even on the slavery question. Hon. Henry A. Wise, of Vir- 
ginia, who was then a member of the House of Representatives from 
that State, was especially earnest in his denunciation of the treaty of 
1835 and of the administration that had coneluded it. He looked 





1 January 3, 1837. 

2 December 1, 1836. 

* This census showed a distribution of the Cherokee population, according to State 
boundaries, as follows: 














Whites in- 
States. Cherokees.) Slaves. | tetmarried 

| with 
Cherokegs. 
LURES en aan ae OR oor os esecony aceon eacgdo encase 8, 946 776 68 
In North Carolina... 3, 644 37 22 
In Tennessee...---. 2, 528 480 79 
rea BAM dense ns sooner oe ceetarrns cee mete ems oohebeca meee: 1, 424 299 32 
POUR mecca smo in eae onans-lstanes se scome~arassepaneseesecs 16, 542 1, 592 201 





*Secretary of War to Col. William Lindsay, May 8, 1837. 
® March 26, 1838. 
5 ETH——19 


290 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


upon it as null and void. In order to make treaties binding the assent 
of both parties must be obtained, and he would assert without fear of 
contradiction that there was not one man in that House or out of it 
who had read the proceedings in the case who would say that there 
had ever been any assent given to that treaty by the Cherokee Nation. 
If this were the proper time he could go further and show that Georgia 
had done her part, too, in this oppression. He could show this by prov- 
ing the policy of that State in relation to the Indians and the institu- 
tions of the General Government. That was the only State in the 
Union that had ever actually nullified, and she now tells you that if 
the United States should undertake to naturalize any portion of the In- 
dian tribes within her limits as citizens of the United States she would 
dosoagain. He had not disparaged the surrounding people of Georgia, 
far from it—“but” (said he) “there are proofs around us in this city of 
the high advancement in civilization which characterizes the Cherokees.” 
He would tell the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Halsey) that a states- 
man of his own State, who occupied a high and honorable post in this 
Government, would not gain greatly by a comparison, either in civiliza- 
tion or morals, with a Cherokee chief whom he could name. He would 
fearlessly institute such a comparison between John Ross and John 
Forsyth.! 

Speech of Daniel Webster.—Mr. Webster, of Massachusetts, also took 
oceasion? to remark in the Senate that ‘there is a strong and growing 
feeling in the country that great wrong has been done to the Cherokees 
by the treaty of New Echota.” 

President Van Buren proffers a compromise.—Public feeling became 
so deeply stirred on the subject that, in the interests of a compromise, 
President Van Buren, in May, 1838, formulated a proposition to allow 
the Cherokees two years further time in which to remoye, subject to 
the approval of Congress and the executives of the States interested. 

Georgia hostile to the compromise.—TYo the communication addressed 
to Governor Gilmer, of Georgia, on the subject, he responded: 

“ * * Tecan giveitnosanction whatever. The proposal could not be carried into 
effect but in violation of the rights cf this State. * * * It is necessary that I 
should know whether the President intends by the instructions to General Scott to 
require that the Indians shall be maintained in their occupancy by an armed force in 
opposition to the rights of the owners of the soil. If such be the intention, a direct 
collision between the authorities of the State and the General Government must ensue. 
My duty will require that I shall prevent any interference whatever by the troops 
with the rights of the State and its citizens. I shall not fail to perform it. 

This called forth a hurried explanation from the Secretary of War 
that the instructions to General Scott were not intended to bear the 
construction placed upon them by the executive of Georgia, but, on the 
contrary, it was the desire and the determination of the President to 





1 Speech in reply to Mr. Halsey, of Georgia, January 2, 1838. 
2May 22, 1838. 


_— 


ROYCE. | TREATY OF DECEMBER 29, 1835. 291 


secure the removal of the Cherokees at the earliest day practicable, and 
he made no doubt it could be effected the present season.! 


GENERAL SCOTT ORDERED TO COMMAND TROOPS IN THE CHEROKEE COUNTRY. 


The executive machinery under the treaty had in the mean time been 
placed in operation, and at the beginning of the year 1838, 2,103 Cher- 
okees had been removed, of whom 1,282 had been permitted to remove 
themselves.” 

Intelligence having reached the President, however, causing appre- 
hension that the mass of the nation did not intend to remove as required 
by the treaty General Winfield Scott was ordered? to assume command 
of the troops already in the nation, and to collect an increased force, com- 
prising aregiment of artillery, aregiment of infantry, and six companies 
of dragoons. He was further authorized, if deemed necessary, to call 
upon the governors of Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama 
for militia and volunteers, not exceeding four thousand in n umber, and to 
put the Indians in motion for the West at the earliest moment possible, 
following the expiration of the two years specified in the treaty. 

Proclamation of General Scott.—On reaching the scene of operations 
General Scott issued‘ a proclamation to the Cherokees in which he 
announced that — 

The President of the United States has sent me with a powerful army to cause you, 
in obedience to the treaty of 1835, to join that part of your people who are already 
established in prosperity on the other side of the Mississippi. Unhappily the two 
years *~ * * allowed for that purpose you have suffered to pass away * * * 
without making any preparation to follow, and now * * * the emigration must 
be commenced in haste. * * * The full moon of May isalready on the wane, and 
before another shall have passed away every Cherokee, man, woman, and child * 
* * must be in motion to join their brethren in the far West. * * * This is no 
sudden determination on the part of the President. * * * Ihave come to carry out 
that determination. My troops already occupy many positions, * * * and thou- 
Sands and thousands are approaching from every quarter to render resistance and 
escape alike hopeless. * * * Will you then by resistance compel us to resort to 
arms? * * * Or will you by flight seek to hide yourselves in mountains and forests 
and thus oblige us to hunt you down? Remember that in pursuit it may be impos- 
sible to avoid conflicts. The blood of the white man or the blood of the red man 
may be spilt, and if spilt, however accidentally, it may be impossible for the discreet 
and humane among you, or among us, to prevent a general war and carnage. 


JOHN ROSS PROPOSES A NEW TREATY. 


John Ross, finding no signof wavering in the determination of the Pres- 
ident to promptly execute the treaty, then submitted® a project for the 
negotiation of a new treaty as a substitute for that of 1835, and differing 





' National Intelligencer, June 8, 1838. 

*Secretary of War to James K. Polk, Speaker of the House of Representatives, 
January 8, 1838. 

* General Macomb to General Scott, April 6, 1838. 

‘May 10, 1838. 

* May, 18, 1838. 


292 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


but little from it in its proposed provisions, except in the idea of secur- 
ing a somewhat larger consideration, as well as some minor adyantages. 
fle was assured in reply that while the United States were willing to 
extend every liberality of construction to the terms of the treaty of 1835 
and to secure the Cherokee title to the western country by patent, they 
could not entertain the idea of a new treaty. 

As soon as it became absolutely apparent, not only that the Cherokees 
must go but that no unnecessary delay would be tolerated beyond the 
limit fixed by the treaty, a more submissive spirit began to be mani- 
fested among them. During the summer of 1838 several parties of emi- 
grants were dispatched under the direction of officers of the Army. 
The number thus removed aggregated about 6,000. 


CHEROKEES PERMITTED TO REMOVE THEMSELVES. 


Later in the season John Ross and others, by virtue of a resolution 
of the national council, submitted a proposition to General Scott that 
the remainder of the business of emigration should be confided to the 
nation, and should take place in the following September and October, 
after the close of the sickly season, the estimated cost of such removal 
to be fixed at $65.88 per head. To this proposal assent was given,” 
and the last party of Cherokee emigrants began their march for the 
West on the 4th of December, 1858.°. Scattered through the mountains 
of North Carolina and Tennessee, however, were many who had fled to 
avoid removal , and who, nearly a year later, were represented to num- 
ber 1,046, and Mr. James Murray was, in the spring of 1840, ap- 
pointed® a commissioner to ascertain and enroll for removal those en- 
titled to the benefits of the treaty of 1835. 


DISSENSIONS AMONG CHEROKEES IN THEIR NEW HOME, 


The removal of the Cherokees having at last been accomplished, the 
next important object of the Government was to insure their internal 
tranquillity, with a view to the increase and encouragement of those 
habits of industry, thrift, and respect for lawfully constituted authority 
which had made so much progress among them in their eastern home. 


1 Annual report of Commissioner of Indian Affairs, November 25, 1838. » 

2 Proposal was accepted July 25; emigration to begin September 1 and end before 
October 20, 1838. 

5The number, according to the rolls of John Ross, who removed under his direc- 
tion, was 13,149. According to the rolls of Captain Stevenson, the agent who received 
them on their arrival West, there were only 11,504, and, according to Captain Page, 
the disbursing officer, there were 11,721. Mr. Ross received on his settlement with 
Captain Page subsequent to the removal, $486,939.504, which made a total payment 
to Ross by the Government on account of Cherokee removals of $1,263,338.38. (Letter 
of Commissioner Indian Affairs, June 15, 1842). See, also, Commissioner of Indian 
Affairs to Commissioner of Land Office, January 9, 1839, 

+Commissioner of Indian Affairs to Secretary of War, September 12, 1839. 

5 April 21, 1840. 





ROYCE. ] TREATY OF DECEMBER 29, 1835. 293 


But this was an undertaking of much difficulty. The instrumentalities 
used by the Government in securing the conclusion and approval of not 
only the treaty of 1835 but also those of 1817 and 1819 had caused 
much division and bitterness in their ranks, which had on many ocea- 
sions in the past cropped out in acts of injustice and even violence. 

Upon the coming together of the body of the nation in their new 
country west of the Mississippi, they found themselves torn and dis- 
tracted by party dissensions and bitterness almost beyond hope of 
reconciliation. The parties were respectively denominated : 

1. The “Old Settler” party, composed of those Cherokees who had 
prior to the treaty of 1835 voluntarily removed west of the Mississippi, 
and who were living under a regularly established form of government 
of their own. 

2. The “ Treaty ” or ‘‘ Ridge” party, being that portion of the nation 
led by John Ridge, and who encouraged and approved the negotiation 
of the treaty of 1835. 

5. The “ Government” or “ Ross” party, comprising numerically a large 
majority of the nation, who followed in the lead of John Ross, for many 
years the principal chief of the nation, and who had been consistently 
and bitterly hostile to the treaty of 1835 and to any surrender of their 
territorial rights east of the Mississippi. 

Upon the arrival of the emigrants in their new homes, the Ross party 
insisted upon the adoption of a new system of government and a code of 
laws for the whole nation. To this the Old Settler party objected, and 
were supported by the Ridge party, claiming that the government and 
laws already adopted and in force among the Old Settlers should con- 
tinue to be binding until the general election should take place in the 
following October, when the newly elected legislature could enact such 
changes as wisdom and good policy should dictate. A general coun- 
cil of the whole nation was, however, called to mect at the new council- 
house at Takuttokah, having in view a unification of interests and the 
pacification of all animosities. The council lasted from the 10th to 
the 22d of June, but resulted in no agreement. Some six thousand 
Cherokees were present. A second council was called by John Ross 
for a similar purpose, to meet at the Illinois camp-ground on the 1st of 
July, 1839.” 

Murder of Boudinot and the Ridges.—Immediately following the ad- 
journment of the Takuttokah council three of the leaders of the Treaty 
party, John Ridge, Major Ridge his father, and Elias Boudinot were 
murdered* in the most brutal and atrocious manner. The excitement 
throughont the nation became intense. Boudinot was murdered within 
300 yards of his house, and only 2 miles distant from the residence of 
John Ross. The friends of the murdered men were persuaded that the 


y ‘Report of Commissioner of Indian Affairs for 1839. 
* Letter of John Ross to General Arbuckle, June 24, 1839. 
3 June 22, 1839. 


294 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


crimes had been committed at the instigation of Ross, as it was well 
known that the murderers were among his followers. oss’s friends, 
however, at once rallied to his protection and a velunteer guard of six 
hundred patrolled the country in the vicinity of his residence.' 

A number of the chiefs and prominent men of the Old Settler and 
Ridge parties fled to Fort Gibson for safety. From there on the 28th 
of June, John Brown, John Looney, John Rogers, and John Smith, 
signing themselves as the executive council of the Western Chero- 
kees, addressed a proposition to John Ross to send a delegation of the 
chiefs and principal men of his party with authority to meet an equal 
number of their own at Fort Gibson, with a view to reach an amicable 
agreement between the different factions. Ross responded? by invit- 
ing them to meet at the council convened upon his call on the Ist of July, 
which was declined. A memorial was thereupon® addressed to the 
authorities of the United States by Brown, Looney, and Rogers as 
chiefs of the Western Cherokees, demanding protection in the territory 
and government guaranteed to them by treaty. Against this appeal 
the Ross convention or council in session at Illinois camp-ground filed 
a protest. Between the dates of the appeal and the protest a part 
of the Old Settlers, acting in concert with Ross and his adherents, 
passed resolutions® declaratory of their disapproval of the conduct of 
Brown and Rogers, and proclaimed their deposition from office as 
chiefs. Looney escaped deposition by transferring his fealty to the 
Ross party. 

Unification of Bastern and Western Cherokees.—It is proper to remark 
in this connection that on the 12th of July the Ross council adopted 
resolutions uniting the Eastern and the Western Cherokees ‘into one 
body politic under the style and title of the Cherokee Nation.” This 
paper, without mentioning or referring to the treaty of 1835, speaks of 
the late emigration as constrained by the force of circumstances. 
The council also passed® a decree, wherein after reciting the murders 
of the Ridges and Boudinot, and that they in conjunction with others 
had by their conduct rendered themselves liable to the penalties of 
outlawry, extended to the survivors a full amnesty for past offenses 
upon sundry very stringent and humiliating conditions. They also 
passed? a decree condoning the crime of the murderers, securing them 
from any prosecution or punishment by reason thereof, and declaring 
them fully restored to the confidence and favor of the community. 

Treaty of 1835 declared void.—At a council held at Aquohee Camp 
a deeree was passed on the Ist of August, declaring the treaty of 1835 





‘Avent Stokes to Secretary of War, June 24, 1839. 
2 July 5, 1839. 

3’ August 9, 1838. 

+ August 27, 1839. 

® August 23, 1839. 

SJuly 7, 1839. 

7 July 10, 1839. 


i 


ROYCE] TREATY OF DECEMBER 29, 1835. 295 


void, and reasserting the Cherokee title to their old country east of the 
Mississippi. Later in the same month a decree was passed,! citing the 
appearance before them, under penalty of outlawry, of the signers of the 
treaty of 1855, to answer for their conduct. This act called forth? a 
vigorous protest from General Arbuckle, commanding Fort Gibson, and 
was supplemented by instructions’ to him from the Secretary of War 
to cause the arrest and trial of Ross as accessory to the murder of the 
Ridges in case he should deem it wise to do so. 

Constitution adopted by the Cherokee Nation —A convention summoned 
by Ross and composed of his followers, together with such members of 
the Treaty and Old Settler parties as could be induced to participate, 
convened and remained in session at Tahlequah from the 6th to the 
10th of September, 1839. This body adopted a constitution for the 
Cherokee Nation, which was subsequently accepted and adopted by the 
Old Settlers or Western Cherokees in council at Fort Gibson on the 26th 
of the following June, and an act of union was entered into between 
the two parties on that date. 

Division of Cherokee territory proposed.—A proposition had been pre- 
viously * submitted by the representatives of the Treaty and Old Set- 
tler parties, urging as the only method of securing peace the division 
of the Cherokee domain and annuities. They recommended that General 
Arbuckle and Captain Armstrong be designated to assign to them and 
to the Ross party each their proportionate share according to their 
numbers, but the adoption of this act of union avoided any necessity 
for the further consideration of the proposal. As a means also of re- 
lieving the Cherokees from further internal strife, General Arbuckle 
had, pursuant to the direction of the Secretary of War, notified them 
that, in consequence of his public acts, John Ross would not be allowed 
to hold office in the nation, and that a similar penalty was denounced 
against William 8. Coody for offensive opinions expressed in the pres- 
ence of the Secretary of War.® Little practical effect was however pro- 
duced upon the standing or influence of these men with their people. 

Skeptical of the sincerity of the promises of peace and good feeling 
held out by the act of unification, John Brown, a noted leader and chief 
of the Old Settler Cherokees, in conjunction with many of his followers, 
among whom were a number of wandering Delawares, asked and ob. 
tained permission from the Mexican Government to settle within the 
jurisdiction of that power, and they were only persuaded to remain by 





1 August 21, 1839. 

2 September 4, 1839, et seq. 

3 November 9, 1839. 

4 January 22, 1840. 

5 April 21, 1840. 

® Coody,in an interview with the Secretary of War, persisted in considering the 
murders of Boudinot and the Ridges as justifiable. General Arbuckle’s letter of 
notification bore date April 21, 1840. 


2456 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


the earnest assurances of the Secretary of War that the United States 
could and would fully protect their interests.! 


CHEROKEES CHARGE THE UNITED STATES WITH BAD FAITH. 


No sooner had the removal of the Cherokees been effectually accom- 
plished than the latter began to manifest much dissatisfaction at what 
they characterized a lack of good faith on the part of the Government 
in carrying out the stipulations of the treaty of 1835. The default 
charged had reference to the matter of payment of their claims for 
spoliations, improvements, annuities,ete. Each winter at least one dele- 
gation from the nation maintained a residence in Washington and urged 
upon the Executive and Congress with untiring persistency an adjudi- 
cation of all disputed matters arising under the treaty. 

At length the term of President Van Buren expired and was suc- 
ceeded by a Whig administration. Then as now, the official acts of an 
outgoing political party were considered to be the legitimate subject of 
criticism aud investigation by its political enemies. President Harrison 
lived but a month after assuming the duties of his office, but Vice-Presi- 
dent Tyler as his successor considered that the treatment to which the 
Cherokees had been subjected during Jacksou’s and Van Buren’s ad- 
ministrations would afford a field for investigation fraught with a rich 
harvest of results in political capital for the Whig party. 

President Tyler promises a new treaty.—Accordingly, therefore, in the 
fall of 1841, just previous to the departure of the Cherokee delegation 
from Washington to their homes, the President agreed to take proper 
measures for the settlement of all their difficulties, expressing a de- 
termination to open the whole subject of their complaints and to bring 
their affairs to a satisfactory conclusion through the medium of a new 
treaty. In conformity with this determination the Commissioner of In- 
dian Affairs? instructed the agent for the Cherokees to procure all the 
information possible to be obtained upon every subject connected with 
Cherokee affairs having a tendency to throw any light upon the wrongs 
and injustice they might have sustained to the end that full amends 
could so far as possible be made therefor. Before much information 
was collected under the terms of these instructions a change seems to 
have taken place in the views of the President, and the order for in- 
vestigation was revoked. The draft of the new treaty was, however, 
in the mean time prepared under direction of the Secretary of War. It 
contained provisions regulating the licensing of traders in the Cherokee 
country, the jurisdiction over crimes committed by citizens of the United 
States resident in that country, the allotment of their lands in severalty 
by the Cherokee authorities, and the establishment of post-offices and 
post-routes within their limits. It further contemplated the appoint- 
ment of two commissioners, whenever Congress should make provision 





‘Commissioner of Indian Affairs to Maj. William Armstrong, August 26, 1840, 
* September 22, 1841. 


ROYCE. ] TREATY OF DECEMBER 29, 135 297 


therefor, whose duty it should be to examine into and make a report to 
that body upon the character, validity, and equity of all claims of what- 
soever kind presented by Cherokees against the United States, and also 
to afford the Cherokees pecuniary aid in the purchase of a printing press 
and type as well as in the erection of a national council-house. This 
treaty, however, was never consummated. 

President Jackson's method for compelling Cherokee removal.—In con- 
nection with this subject of an investigation into the affairs of the Cher- 
okees, a confidential letter is to be found on file in the office of the Com- 
missioner of Indian Affairs, from Hon. P. M. Butler, of South Carolina, 
who had a few months previous to its date! been appointed United 
States agent for the Cherokees, interesting as throwing light on the 
negotiation and conclusion of the treaty of 1835. Mr. Butler says it is 
alleged, and claimed to be susceptible of proof, that Mr. Merriweather, 
of Georgia, in an interview with President Jackson, a considerable time 
before the treaty was negotiated, said to the President, ‘‘ We want the 
Cherokee lands in Georgia, but the Cherokees will not consent to cede 
them,” to which the President emphatically replied, “You must get 
clear of them [the Cherokees] by legislation. Take judicial jurisdiction 
over their country; build fires around them, and do indirectly what you 
cannot effect directly.” 


PER CAPITA PAYMENTS UNDER THE TREATY. 


In the same letter Mr. Butler, in alluding to the existing difficulties 
in the Cherokee Nation, observes that prior to the preceding October 
the Ross party had been largely in the ascendency in the nation, but 
that at their last preceding election the question hinged upon whether 
the ‘per capita” money due them under the treaty of 1835 should be 
immediately paid over to the people. The result was in favor of the 

tidge party, who assumed the aflirmative of the question, the opposi- 

tion of Ross and his party being predicated on the theory that an ac- 
ceptance of this money would be an acknowledgment of the validity of 
the treaty of 1835. This, it was feared, would have an unfavorable ef- 
fect on their efforts to secure the conclusion of a new treaty on more 
satisfactory terms. On the settlement of this per capita tax, Mr. Butler 
remarks, will depend the peace and safety of the Cherokee Nation, 
adding that should the rumors afloat prove true, to the effect that the, 
per-capita money was nearly exhausted, neither the national funds in 
the hands of the treasurer nor the life of Mr. Ross would be safe for 
an hour from the infuriated members of the tribe. 


POLITICAL MURDERS IN CHEROKEE NATION. 


In the spring of 1542 an event occurred which again threw the whole 
nation into a state of the wildest excitement. The friends of the mur- 





‘March 4, 1842. 


298 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


dered Ridges and Boudinot had never forgiven the act, nor had time 
served to soften the measure of their resentment against the perpetra- 
tors and their supposed abettors. Stand Watie had long been a leader 
among the Ridge party and had been marked for assassination at the 
time of the murders just alluded to. He was a brother of John Ridge, 
one of the murdered men, and he now, in virtue of his mission as an 
avenger, killed James Foreman, a member of the Ross party and one of 
the culprits in the murder of the Ridges. Although Stand Watie ex- 
cused his conduct on the score of having come to a knowledge of cer- 
tain threats against his life made by Foreman, no event could at that 
time have been more demoralizing and destructive of the earnestly de- 
sired era of peace and good feeling among the Cherokee people. From 
that time forward all hope of a sincere unification of the several tribal 
factions was at an end. 


ADJUDICATION COMMISSIONERS APPOINTED. 


Tn the autumn of 1842! the President appointed John H. Haton and 
James Iredell as commissioners to adjudicate and settle claims under 
the treaty of 1835. Mr. Iredell declined, and Edward B. Hubley was 
appointed? to fill his place. This tribunal was created to continue the 
uncompleted work of the board appointed in 1836 under the provisions 
of the same article, the labors of which had terminated in March, 1839, 
having been in session more than two years. 


TREATY CONCLUDED AUGUST 6, 1846; PROCLAIMED AUGUST 17, 1846.* 


Held at Washington, D. C., between Edmund Burke, William Armstrong, 
and Albion K. Parris, commissioners on behalf of the United States, 
and delegates representing each of the three factions of the Cherokee 
Nation, known, respectively, as the “ Government party,” the ‘ Treaty 
party,” and the ** Old Settler party.” 


MATERIAL PROVISIONS. 


The preamble recites the difficulties that have long existed between 
the different factions of the nation, and because of the desire to heal 
those differences and to adjust certain claims against the United States 
growing out of the treaty of 1835 this treaty is concluded, and pro- 
vides: 

1. The lands now oceupied by the Cherokee Nation shall be secured 
to the whole Cherokee people for their common use and benefit. The 
United States will issue a patent therefor to include the 800,000-acre 
tract and the western outlet. If the Cherokees become extinct or 
abandon the land it shall revert to the United States. 


‘September 9, 1842. 
2 November 8, 1842. 
3 United States Statute at Large, Vol. IX, p. 871. 


ROYCE. ] TREATY OF AUGUST 6, 1846. 299 


2. All difficulties and differences heretofore existing between the 
several parties of the Cherokee Nation are declared to be settled and 
adjusted. A general amnesty for all offenses is declared and fugitives 
may return without fear of prosecution. Laws shall be passed for the 
equal protection of all. All armed police or military organizations shall 
be disbanded and the laws executed by civil process. Trial by jury is 
guaranteed. 

3. The United States agree to reimburse to the Cherokee Nation all 
sums unjustly deducted for claims, reservations, expenses, etc., from 
the consideration of $5,000,000 agreed to be paid under the treaty of 
1835 to the Cherokees for their lands, and to distribute the same as 
provided in the ninth article of that treaty. 

4. The board of commissioners recently appointed by the President 
have declared that under the provisions of the treaty of 1828 the “ Old 
Settlers,” or Western Cherokees, had no exclusive title to the lands 
ceded by that treaty as against the Eastern Cherokees, and that by 
the equitable operation of that treaty the former acquired a common 
interest in the Cherokee lands east of the Mississippi. This interest of 
the “Old Settlers” was unprovided for by the treaty of 1835. It is 
therefore agreed that a sum equal to one-third of the residuum of per 
eapita fund left after a proper adjustment of the account for distribu- 
tion under the treaty of 1835 shall be paid to said *“‘ Old Settlers,” and 
that in so doing, in estimating the cost of removal and subsistence, it 
shall be based upon the rate fixed therefor in the eighth article of the 
treaty of 1855. In consideration of the foregoing the ‘‘ Old Settlers” 
release to the United States all interest in the Cherokee lands east of 
the Mississippi and all claim to exclusive ownership in the Cherokee 
lands west of the Mississippi. 

5. The per capita allowance to the ‘“‘ Western Cherokees,” or “ Old 
Settlers,” upon the principle above stated, shall be held in trust by the 
United States and paid out to each individual or head of family or his 
representative entifled thereto in person. The President of the United 
States shall appoint five persons as a committee from the “ Old Settlers” 
to determine who are entitled to the per capita allowance. 

6. The United States agree to pay the “Treaty party” the sum of 
$115,000 for losses and expenses incurred in connection with the treaty 
of 1835, of which $5,000 shall be paid to the legal representatives or 
heirs of Major Ridge, $5,000 to those of John Ridge, and $5,000 to those 
of Elias Boudinot. The remainder shall be distributed among those 
who shall be certified by a committee of the “ Treaty party” as entitled, 
provided that the present delegation of the party may deduct $25,000, 
to be by them applied to the payment of claims and expenses. And if 
the said sum of $100,000 should be insufficient to pay all claims for 
losses and damages, then the claimants to be paid pro rata in full satis- 
faction of said claims. 

7. All individuals of the ‘“* Western Cherokees” who have been dis- 


300 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


possessed of salines, the same being their private property, shall be 
compensated therefor by the Cherokee Nation, upon an award to be 
made by the United States agent and a Cherokee commissioner, or the 
salines shall be returned to the respective owners. 

8. The United States agree to pay the Cherokee Nation $2,000 for a 
printing press, ete., destroyed; $5,000 to be equally divided among all 
whose arms were taken from them previous to their removal West by 
order of an officer of the United States, and $20,000 in lieu of all claims 
of the Cherokee Nation, as a nation, prior to the treaty of 1835, except 
lands reserved for school funds. 

9. The United States agree to make a fair and just settlement of all 
moneys due to the Cherokees and subject to the per capita division 
under the treaty of December 29,1835. This settlement to embrace all 
sums properly expended or charged to the Cherokees under the provis- 
ions of said treaty, and which sums shall be deducted from the sum of 
$6,647,067. The balance found due to be distributed per capita among 
those entitled to receive the same under the treaty of 1835 and supple- 
ment of 1836, being those residing east of the Mississippi River at that 
date. 

10. Nothing herein shall abridge or take away any rights or claims 
which the Cherokees now residing in States east of the Mississippi 

River had or may have under the treaty of 1835 and supplement of 1836. 

11. It is agreed that the Senate of the United States shall determine 
whether the amount expended for one year’s subsistence of the Chero- 
kees, after their removal under the treaty of 1835 and supplement of 
1836, is properly chargeable to the United States or to the Cherokee 
funds, and, if to the latter, whether such subsistence shall be charged 
at a sum greater’ than $334 per head; also, whether the Cherokees shall 
be allowed interest upon the sums found to be due them: and, if so, 
from what date and at what rate. : 

12. (The twelfth article was struck out by the Senate.) 

13. This treaty to be obligatory after ratification by the Senate and 
President of the United States. 


HISTORICAL DATA. 
CHEROKEES DESIRE A NEW TREATY. 


In the spring of 1844 a delegation headed by John Ross arrived in 
Washington. In a communication! to the Secretary of War they in- 
closed a copy of a letter addressed to them by President Tyler on the 
20th of September, 1841, previously alluded to, promising them a new 
treaty to settle all disputes arising under the treaty of 1835. They ad- 
vised the Secretary of their readiness to enter upon the negotiation of 








*May 30, 1844. 


— 


ROYCE. ] TREATY OF AUGUST 6, 1846. 301 


difference to be adjudicated, involving (1) a fair and just indemnity to be 
paid to the Cherokee Nation for the country east of the Mississippi from 
which they were forced to remove; (2) indemnity for all improvements, 
ferries, turnpike roads, bridges, etc., belonging to the Cherokees; (3) 
indemnity for spoliations committed upon all other Cherokee property 
by troops and citizens of the United States prior and subsequent to the 
treaty of 1855; (4) that a title in absolute fee-simple to the country west 
of the Mississippi be conveyed to the Cherokee Nation by the United 
States; (5) that the political relations between the Cherokee Nation and 
the United States be specifically defined; (6) that stocks now invested 
by the President for the Cherokee Nation be guaranteed to yield a speci- 
fied annual income, and (7) that provision be made for those Cherokees 
residing east of the Mississippi who should evince a desire to emigrate 
to the Cherokee country west of’ that river. 


FEUDS BETWEEN THE ROSS, TREATY, AND OLD SETTLER PARTIES. 


At this period delegations representing the anti-Ross parties were 
also in Washington, and their animosities, coupled with the frequent 
and unsavory reports of the events happening in the Cherokee country, 
determined the President to conclude no new treaty until the true cause 
was ascertained and the responsibility fixed for all this turbulence and 
crime.! The Old Settler and the Treaty parties alleged that griev- . 
ous oppressions were practiced upon them by the Ross party, inso- 
much that they were unable to enjoy their liberty, property, or lives 
in safety, or to live in peace in the same community. The Old Set- 
tler delegation alleged that the act of union, by virtue of which their 
government was superseded and they were subjected to the consti- 
tution and laws of the Ross party, was never authorized or sanctioned 
Ly the legal representatives of their people. Per contra, the Ross dele- 
gatiou alleged that the Old Settler and the Treaty parties enjoyed the 
same degree of security and the same fullness of rights that any other 
portion of the nation enjoyed, and that the alleged dissatisfaction was 
confined to a few restless and ambitious spirits whose motto was “rule 
or ruin.” 

Commissioners appointed to inquire into Cherokee feuds.—In conse- 
quence of his determination, as above stated, the President appointed 
General R. Jones, Col. R. B. Mason, and P. M. Butler commissioners, 
with instructions? to proceed to the Cherokee country and ascertain if 
any considerable portion of the Cherokee people were arrayed in hos- 
tile feeling toward those who ruled the nation; whether a corresponding 
disposition and feeling prevailed among the majority who administered 
the government toward the minority; the lengths of oppression, resist- 
ance, and violence to which the excitement of each against the other had 





‘Letter of Secretary of War to Commissioners Jones and Butler, October 18, 1844. 
2 October 18, 1844. 


302 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


severally led the opposing parties, and whether the discontent was of such 
extent and intensity among the great mass of the Old Settler and Treaty 
parties as to forbid their living peaceably together under the same goy- 
ernment with the Ross party. This commission convened at Fort Gib- 
son on the 16th of November,! but their labors resulted in nothing of 
practical benefit to the sorely distressed Cherokees. 


DEATH OF SEQUOYATL OR GEORGE GUESS. 


Sequoyah or George Guess, the inventor of the Cherokee alphabet, re- 
moved to the country west of the Mississippi long anterior to the treaty 
of 1835,? and was for several years one of the national council of the 
Western Cherokees. 

In the year 1843 he left his home for Mexico in quest of several scat- 
tered bands of Cherokees who had wandered off to that distant region, 
and whom it was his intention to collect together with a view to induc- 
ing them to return and become again united with their friends and 
kindred. 

He did not meet with the success anticipated. Being quite aged, 
and becoming worn out and destitute, he was unable without assistance 
to make the return trip to his home. Agent Butler, learning of his 
condition, reported the fact to the Indian Department’ and asked that 
sufficient funds be placed at his disposal for the purpose of sending 
messengers to bring the old man back. Two hundred dollars were au- 
thorized! to be expended for the purpose, and Oo-no-leh, a Cherokee, 
was sent on the errand of merey, but upon reaching Red River he en- 
countered a party of Cherokees from Mexico who advised him that 
Guess had died in the preceding July, and that his remains were in- 
terred at San Fernando.® 


OLD SETTLER AND TREATY PARTIES PROPOSE TO REMOVE TO MEXICO. 


In the fall of 1845 the bulk of the Old Settler and Treaty parties, 
having become satisfied that it would be impossible for them to main- 
tain a peaceful and happy residence in the country of their adoption 
while the influence of John Ross continued potent in their national 





1Letter of General Jones to Commissioner of Indian Affairs, November 17, 1844. 

2 He was one of the chiefs of the Arkansas delegation who signed the treaty of May 
6, 1828. (See United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 314.) 

5 Letters of September 12 and November 23, 1844, from Agent Butler to Commissioner 
of Indian Affairs. 

‘Letter of Commissioner Indian Affairs to Agent Butler, January 17, 1845. 

° Letter of Oo-no-leh to Agent Butler, May 15, 1845. Guess left a widow, a son, and 
two daughters. Hon. T. L. McKenny, ina letter to the Secretary of War, December 
13, 1825, says: ‘‘ His name is Guess, and he isanative and unlettered Cherokee. Like 
Cadmus, he has given to the people the alphabet of their language. It is composed 
of eighty-six characters, by which in a few days the older Indians who had despaired 
of deriving an education by means of theschools * * * may read and correspond.” 
Agent Butler, in his annual report for 1845, says: “The Cherokees who cannot speak 
English acquire their own alphabet in twenty-four hours.” 





ROYCE | TREATY OF AUGUST 6, 1846. 308 


government, resolyed to seek for themselves anew home on the borders 
of Mexico. A council was therefore held at which a delegation (con- 
sisting of forty-three members of the Treaty and eleven of the Old 
Settler party) was chosen to explore the country to the south and west 
for a future abode. They rendezyoused! at the forks of the Canadian 
and Arkansas Rivers, and, after electing a captain, proceeded via Fort 
Washita, crossing the Red River at Coffee’s trading house, and follow- 
ing the ridge dividing the waters of Trinity and Brazos to the latter 
river, which they crossed at Basky Creek. Here they found a small 
settlement of sixty-three Cherokees, who had moyed in the preceding 
June from a place called by them Mount Clover, in Mexico. 

Among their number was found Tessee Guess, the son of George 
Guess. Leaving Brazos? the explorers traveled westward to the Colo- 
rado, reaching it at the mouth of Stone Fort Creek,’ beyond which they 
proceeded in a southwesterly direction to the San Sabba Creek, at a 
point about 40 or 50 miles above its mouth. They returned on a line 
some 60 miles south of their outgoing trip,‘ and with their friends held 
a council at Dragoon Barracks in the Cherokee Nation. At this meet- 
ing it was decided to ask the United States to provide them a home in 
the Texas country upon their relinquishment of all interest in the 
Cherokee Nation, or in case of a refusal of this request that the terri- 
tory of the nation be divided into two parts, and a moiety thereof be 
assigned to them with the privilege of adopting their own form of goy- 
ernment and living under it. 

The governor of Arkansas® and General Arbuckle* both concurred 
in the conclusions reached by this council, and urged upon the author- 
ities at Washington the necessary legislation to carry the same into 
effect. 


MORE POLITICQL MURDERS. 


Shortly after the delegation selected by the foregoing council had 
proceeded to Washington in the interest of the adoption of the scheme 
proposed, another epidemic of murder and outrage broke out in the na- 
tion. On the 23d of March, Agent McKissick reported to the Indian 
Department the murder of Stand, a prominent member of the Ross 
party, by Wheeler Faught, at the instigation of the “Starr boys,” who 
were somewhat noted leaders of the Treaty party. This murder was 
committed in revenge for the killing of James Starr and others during 
the outbreak of the preceding November. It was followed’ by the 





1 September 1, 1845. 

2 October 22, 1845. 

8’November 12, 1845. They explored up the valley of Stone Fort Creek a distance 
of 30 miles. ; 

+ Report of the exploring party to their council. 

* January 19, 1846. 

° Letter to the President, February 10, 1846. 

7 Letter to the Secretary of War, February 12, 1846, 

8 April 2, 1846. 


304 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 

murder of Cornsilk, another of Ross’s adherents, by these same ‘Starr 
boys,” and six days later the spirit of retaliation led to the killing of 
Turner, a member of the Treaty party. On the 25th of the same 
month! Ellis, Dick, and Billy Starr were wounded by a band of Ross’s 
Cherokee police, who chased them across the line of Arkansas in the 
attempt to arrest them for trial before the Cherokee tribunals for the 
murder of Too-noo-wee two days before. General Arbuckle took them 
under his protection, and refused to deliver them up for trial to the 
Cherokee authorities until the latter should take proper steps to punish 
the murderers of James Starr. Subsequently Baldridge and Sides, of 
the Ross party, were murdered by Jim and Tom Starr, in revenge for 
which the light horse police company of the Ross government mur- 
dered Billy Ryder, of the Treaty party.’ 

In this manner the excitement was maintained and the outrages mul- 
tiplied until, on the 28th of August, Agent McKissick reported that 
since the Ist of November preceding there had been an aggregate of 
thirty-three murders committed in the Cherokee Nation, nearly all of 
which were of a political character. The feeling of alarm became so 
widespread that General Arbuckle was constrained to increase the mil- 
itary force on the frontier by two companies. 


NEGOTIATION OF TREATY OF 1846. 


While these unhappy events were in progress Major Armstrong, su- 
perintendent of Indian affairs, who was in Washington, submitted to 
the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, at the suggestion of the several 
Cherokee delegations, a proposition for the appointment of a commis- 
sioner clothed with full powers to adjust all difficulties between the 
various factions of their people. 

The Commissioner replied that as the matter was before Congress and 
would likely receive the speedy attention of that body, no action would 
be justified by the executive authorities without first being assured 
that the proposition was founded in good faith and would result in some 
certain and satisfactory arrangement. He must also have assurance 
that there existed a firm determination on the part of the Department 
and of Congress to bring these troubles to a close before the adjourn- 
ment of the latter body. The Commissioner, however, drew up a mem- 
orandum agreement for the signature of the several delegations of 
Cherokees representing the different factions of the tribe. It provided 
for the appointment of three commissioners, whose duty it should be to 
examine into all matters in controversy and adjust the same, and that 
all parties should abide absolutely by their decision, agreeing to execute 
and sign such treaty or other instrument of agreement as should be 
considered necessary to insure the execution of the award of the com- 





‘ Letter of Agent McKissick to Commissioner Indian Affairs, May 12, 1846, and Gen- 
eral Arbuckle to Adjutant-General, April 28, 1346. 
? Report of Agent McKissick July 4, 1846. 





Roxee. ] TREATY OF AUGUST 6, 1846. 305 


missioners.! This agreement was duly signed by the members of the 
several delegations present in Washington, and in pursuance of its pro- 
visions President Polk appointed? Edmund Burke, William Armstrong, 
and Albion K. Parris commissioners with the powers and for the pur- 
poses above indicated. These commissioners at once entered into com- 
munication and negotiation with the three delegations representing the 
different factions of the Cherokee Nation, which were then in Wash- 
ington, and the result was the conclusion of the treaty of August 6, 
1846,* in thirteen articles, naking detailed provision for the adjustment 
of all questions of dispute between the Cherokees themselves and also 
for the settlement of all claims by the Cherokees against the United 
States.‘ This treaty, with some slight amendments, was ratified and 
proclaimed by the President on the 17th of the same month; an abstract 
of its provisions has already been presented. It was not until this 
treaty that the Ross party ever consented in any manner to recognize 
or be bound by the treaty of 1835.° 

Objects of the treaty.—The main principle involved in the negotiation 
of the treaty of 1846 had been the disposition on the part of the United 
States to reimburse to the Cherokee fund sundry sums which, although 
not justly chargeable upon it, had been improperly paid out of that 
fund." In the treaty of 1835 the United States had agreed to pay to 
the Cherokees $5,000,000 for their lands and $600,000 for spoliations, 
claims, expenses of removal, etc.?. By the act of June 12, 1838,* Con- 
gress appropriated the further sum of $1,047,067 for expenses of re- 
moval. As all these sums were for objects expressed in the treaty of 
1535, the commissioners who negotiated the treaty of 1846 regarded 
them as one aggregate sum given by the United States for the lands of 
the Cherokees, subject to the charges, expenditures, and investments 
provided for in the treaty. This aggregate sum was appropriated and 
placed in the Treasury of the United States, to be disposed of according 
to the stipulations of the treaty. The United States thereby became 
the trustee of this fund for the benefit of the Cherokee people, and were 
bound to manage it in accordance with the well known principles of 
law and equity which regulate the relation of trustee and cestui que 
trust. 

Adjudication of the treaty of 1835.—In order, therefore, to carry out 
the principle thus established by the treaty of 1846, Congress, by joint 


g, June 24, 1846. 


* Commissioner Indian Affairs to Maj. William Armstrong 


> Jaly 6, 1816. 

° United States Statutes at Large, Vol. IX, p. 871. 

* The subject of the North Carolina Cherokee interests was also referred to this com- 
mission July 13, 1846. 

° Report of Commissioner Indian Affairs to Secretary Interior, January 20, 1855. 

° Second Comptroller of the Treasury to Commissioner of Indian Affairs, February 
6, 1849. 

7 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 478. 

* United States Statutes at Large, Vol. V, p. 241. 

5 ETH——2(0) 


306 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


resolution of August 7, 1848, required the proper accounting officers of 
the Treasury to make a just and fair statement of account with the 
Cherokee Nation upon that basis. The joint report of the Second Comp- 
troller and Second Auditor was submitted to Congress? after a full and 
thorough examination of all the accounts and vouchers of the several 
officers and agents of the United States who had disbursed funds ap- 
propriated to carry into effect the treaty of 1835, and also of all claims 
that had been admitted at the Treasury. 
The result of this examination showed that there had been paid— 


OL 1MpProviements ma ones cts crema ey staetetelaeateetate eeee eer $1, 540, 572 27 
For ferries cccas cen sca woesGe sas Seo eeeneeee Sasueees outa ek oes 159, 572 12 
Por spoliations2-aa-.2= ese = mclaren ae eee ene tants 264,894 09 


For removal and subsistence and commutation therefor, including 
$2,765.84 expended for goods for the poorer Cherokees under the fif- 
teenth article of treaty of 1835, and including also necessary inci- 
dental expenses of enrolling agents, conductors, commissioners, medi- 








callattendance, and supplies: 6tt)s--c-- oe eee see ere 2,952, 196 26 
For debts and claims upon the Cherokee Nation... --....--..----.---- 101, 348 31 
For the additional quantity of land ceded to the nation....--.-..---- 500, 000 00 
For amount invested as the general fund of the nation..--.. ........- 500, 880 00 

Thevaggregate of whichisumsisjee. eee el meee =e ole ee 6, 019, 463 05 
which, being deducted from the'sum of ------ -----.--5 22. 2-2 -o.5 a 6, 647, 067 00 








agreeably to the directions of the ninth article of the treaty of 1846, 
left a balance due the Cherokee Nation of..--...-....----.--------- 627,603 95 


They also reported that there was a further sum of $96,999.31, charged 
to the general treaty fund, which had been paid to the various agents 
of the Government connected with the removal of the Indians and 
which the Cherokees contended was an improper charge upon their 
fund. The facts as to this item were submitted by the Auditor and 
Comptroller without recommendation for the decision of the question 
by Congress, and Congress, admitting the justice of the Cherokee claim, 
included this sum in the subsequent appropriation of February 27, 
1851.3 

It was also resolved * by the United States Senate (as umpire under 
the treaty of 1846) that the Cherokee Nation was entitled to the sum 
of $189,422.76 for subsistence, being the difference between the amount 
allowed by act of June 12, 1538, and the amount actually paid and ex- 
pended by the United States, and which excess was improperly charged 
to the treaty fund in the report of the accounting officers of the Treasury 
just recited. It was further resolved that interest at 5 per cent. should 
be allowed upon the sums found due the Eastern and Western Cherokees 
respectively from June 12, 1838. The amount of this award was made 








1 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. IX, p. 339. 
2 December 3, 1849. 
’ United States Statutes at Large, Vol. IX, p. 572. 
4September 5, 1850. 


ROYCE. } TREATY OF AUGUST 6, 1846. 307 


available to the Cherokees by Congressional appropriation of September 
30, 1850.! 

Settlement of claims of “ Old Settler” party.—By the fourth and fifth 
articles of the treaty of 1846,’ provision is made and a basis fixed for 
the settlement with that part of the Cherokee Nation known as “ Old 
Settlers ” or “ Western Cherokees,” or, in other words, those who had 
emigrated under the treaties of 1817,° 1819,4 and 1828,° and who were, 
at the date of the treaty of 1855,° an organized and separate nation of 
Indians, whom the United States had recognized as such by the treaties 
of 1828 and 18537 made with them. In making the treaty of 1835 with 
the Cherokees east, which provided for their final and complete transfer 
to the country west, then occupied by the ‘* Western Cherokees,” and 
guaranteed in perpetuity by two treaties, upon considerations alone 
connected with them, the rights of the latter seem to have been forgot- 
ten. The consequences of the influx of the Eastern Cherokees were such 
that upon their arrival the “ Old Settlers” were thrown into a hope- 
less minority; their government was subverted, and a new one, imported 
with the emigrants coerced under the treaty of 1835, substituted in its 
place. 

To allay the discontent thus caused in the minds of the “Old Settlers,” 
and to provide compensation to them for the undivided interest which 
the United States regarded them as owning in the country east of the 
Mississippi, under the equitable operation of the treaty of 1828, was 
one of the avowed objects of the treaty of 1846. To ascertain their in- 
terest it was assumed that they constituted one-third of the entire 
nation, and should therefore be entitled to an amount equal to one- 
third of the treaty fund of 1835, after all just charges were deducted. 
This residuum of the treaty fund, contemplated by the fourth article of 
the treaty of 1846, amounted, as first calculated, to $1,571,346.55, which 
would make the proportionate share of the “ Old Settlers” amount to 
the sum of $523,782.18. The act of September 30, 1850,* made provis- 
ion for the payment to the “ Old Settlers,” in full of all demands under 
the provisions and according to the principles established in the fourth 
article of the treaty of 1846, of the sum of $552,896.96 with interest at 
5 per cent. per annum. This was coupled with the proviso that the 
Indians who should receive the money should first respectively sign a 
receipt or release acknowledging the same to be in full of all demands 
under the terms of such article. 





1 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. IX, p. 556. 
2 Tbid., p. 871. 

3 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 156. 
4Ibid., p. 195. 

5Tbid., p. 311. 

®Ibid., p. 478. 

7Tbid., p. 414. 

®United States Statutes at Large, Vol. IX, p. 556. 


308 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


A year later, when the “ Old Settlers” were assembled for the pur- 
pose of receiving this per capita money, although their necessities were 
such as to compel compliance with the conditions of payment, they en- 
tered a written protest against the sum paid being considered in full of 
all their demands, and appealed to the United States for justice, indi- 
cating at the same time in detail wherein they were entitled to receive 
large additional sums. 

For many years this additional claim of the “Old Settlers” practi- 
cally lay dormant. But toward the close? of the year 1875 they held 
a convention or council at Tahlequah, the capital of the Cherokee Na- 
tion, and resolved to prosecute their claim to a ‘‘speedy, just, and final 
settlement.” To that end three of their people were appointed com- 
missioners with full power to prosecute the claim, employ counsel, and 
to do all other necessary and proper things in Me premises. The coun- 
cil set apart and appropriated 3 35 per centum of whatever should be 
collected to defray all the necessary expenses attendant upon such 
prosecution and collection. Several subsequent councils have been 
held about the subject,’ and the matter continued to be pressed upon 
the attention of Congress until, by the terms of an act approved 
August 7, 1882,* that body directed the Secretary of the Interior to 
investigate this and other matters relating to the Cherokees and to 
report thereon to Congress. Pursuant to the purpose of this enactment, 
Mr. C. C, Clements was appointed a special agent of the Interior De- 
partment with instructions to make the required investigation. He 
submitted three reports on the subject, the latter two being supple- 
mental to and corrective of the first. From this last report? it appears 
that he finds the sum of $421,653.68 to be due to the “Old Settler” 
Cherokees, together with inenees at 5 per cent. per annum from Sep- 
tember 99. 1851. In brief his findings are— 

1. That they received credit, under the settlement made under the 
treaty of 1846, for one-third of the fund, and were chargeable with one- 
third of the items properly taxable thereto. 

2. Independent of article four of the treaty of 1846, the ‘Old Set- 
tlers” were not chargeable with removal out of the $5,000,000 fund. 

3. Independent of that article, they should not be charged out of the 
$5,000,000 fund with the removal of the Eastern Cherokees, for three 
reasons: (a) The ‘“‘ Old Settlers” removed themselves at their own ex- 
pense; (b) the Eastern Cherokees were not required to reimburse the 
“Old Settlers ” under the treaty of 1835; and (c) the Government was 
required to remove the Eastern Cherokees. 

4. They were not properly chargeable with the removal of the Ross 


‘September 22, L851. 

2 November 22, 1875. 

% April 28, 1877, November 20, 1880, November 17, 1881, and October 13, 1582. 
*United States Statutes at Large, Vol. XXII, p. 328. 

5 January 31, 1883. 


ROYCE. ] TREATY OF AUGUST 6, 1846 309 


party of 13,148, because (a) the United States were to remove them, and 
(b) an appropriation of $1,047,067 was made for that purpose, for which 
the “ Old Settlers” received no credit in the settlement under the treaty 
of 1846. 

5. Having received credit for their proportion of the $600,000, under 
article three of the treaty of 1836, they were chargeable with their pro- 
portion of that fund used for removal, etc., i. ¢., 2,495 Indians at $53.33 
per head, amounting to $133,058.35. 

6. The Eastern Cherokees were properly chargeable with the re- 
moval of the Ross party,and therefore they received credit for the 
$1,047,067 appropriated by the act of June 12, 1838. 

7. In the settlement, the $5,600,000 fund was charged with the re- 
moyal and subsistence of 18,026 Indians at $53.334 per head, amount- 
ing to $961,386.66.) 

This report, with accompanying letters of the Commissioner of Indian 
Affairs and the Secretary of the Interior, was transmitted to Congress 
by the President, with a special message, on the 17th of December, 1585. 

Other questions under the treaty of 1835.—There were two other ques- 
tions about which the parties could not agree, and upon which, by the 
eleventh article of the treaty of 1846, the Senate of the United States 
was designated as the umpire. The first of these was whether the 
amount expended for the one year’s subsistence of the Eastern Chero- 
kees, after their arrival in the West, should be borne by the United 
States or by the Cherokee funds, and, if by the latter, then whether sub- 
sistence should be charged at a greater rate than $334 per head. 

The Senate committee to whom the subject was referred for report to 
that body found much difficulty, as shown by their report, in reaching 
a just conclusion. They observed that the faulty manner in which the 
treaty of 1835 was drawn, its ambiguity of terms, and the variety of 
constructions placed upon it, had led to a great embarrassment in ar- 
riving at the real intention of the parties, but that upon the whole the 
opinion seemed to be justified that the charge should be borne by the 
United States. By a strict construction of the treaty of 1835, the ex- 
pense of a year’s subsistence of the Indians was no doubt a proper 
charge upon the treaty fund and was so understood by the Government 
at the time. In the original scheme of the treaty furnished the com- 
missioners empowered to treat with the Indians this item was enumer- 
ated among the expenditures, ete., to be provided for in its several 
articles, and which made up the aggregate sum of $5,000,000 to be paid 
for the Cherokee country. The Secretary of War, in a letter addressed 
to John Ross and others in 1836, had said that the United States, having 
allowed the full consideration for their country, nothing further would 
be conceded for expenses of removal and subsistence. The whole his- 
tory of the negotiation of the treaty shows that the $5,000,000 was the 
maximum sum which the United States were willing to pay, and that 


1 See Senate Executive Document No. 14, Forty-Eighth Congress, Ist session. 


310 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


this was not so mnch a consideration for the lands and possessions of 
the Indians as an indemnity to cover the necessary sacrifices and losses 
in the surrender of one country and their removal to another. 

On the other hand, among the circumstances establishing the pro- 
priety of a contrary construction may be mentioned the language of the 
eighth article of the treaty, that “the United States also agree and 
stipulate to remove the Cherokees to their new homes and to subsist 
them one year after their arrival there.” This language imports pecu- 
niary responsibility rather than a simple disbursement of a trust fund. 
In the “talk” also which was sent! by President Jackson to the In- 
dians to explain the advantages of the proposed treaty, he mentioned 
that the stipulations offered ‘‘ provide for the removal at the expense 
of the United States of your whole people, and for their subsistence a 
year after their arrival in their new country.” 

It was also the common practice of the United States in removing 
the Indian tribes from one locality to another to defray the expense of 
such removal, and this was done in the cases of their neighbors, the 
Chickasaws, Choctaws, Creeks, and Seminoles. It is a matter of but 
little surprise, therefore, that a conflicting interpretation of this treaty 
through a series of years should have produced grave embarrassmeuts. 

Independent, however, of the literal provisions of the treaty of 1835, 
there existed other grounds upon which to base a judgment favorable 
to the claims of the Cherokees. The treaty with the supplementary 
article was finally ratified on the 23d of May, 1836, and by its provisions 
the Cherokees were required to remove within two years. It had been 
concluded (in the face of a protest from a large majority) with a small 
minority of the nation. Within the two years those who had favored 
the treaty had mostly emigrated to the West under its provisions.? 
The large majority of the nation, adopting the counsels of John Ross 
had obstinately withstood all the efforts of the Government to induce 
them to adopt the treaty or emigrate. They had repudiated its obliga- 
tion and denounced it as a fraud upon the nation. In the mean time 
the United States had appointed its agents under the treaty and col- 
lected a large military foree to compel its execution. The State of 
Georgia had adopted a system of hostile legislation intended to drive 
them from the country. She had surveyed their territory and disposed 
of their homes and firesides by lottery. She had dispossessed them of 
a portion of their lands, subjected them to her laws, and at the same 
time disqualified them from the enjoyment of any political or civil 
rights. In this posture of affairs, the Cherokees who had never aban- 
doned the vain hope of remaining in the country of their birth or of 
obtaining better terms from the United States made new proposals 
to the United States through John Ross and others for the sale of 
their country and emigration to the West. Still pursuing the idea that 


‘March 16, 1835. 
2Letter of John Mason, jr. to Secretary of War, September 25, 1837. 


ROYCE. | TREATY OF AUGUST 6, 1846. 511 


they were aliens to the treaty of 1835 and unfettered by its provisions, 
they proposed to release all claim to their country and emigrate for a 
named sum of money in connection with other conditions, among which 
was the stipulation that they should be allowed to take charge of their 
own emigration and that the United States should pay the expenses 
thereof. To avoid the necessity of enforcing the treaty at the point of 
the bayonet and to obtain relief from counter obligations to Georgia 
by the compact of 1802 and to the Cherokees by the treaties of 1817 
and 1819, the proposal was readily acceded to by the United States 
authorities. 

On the 18th of May, 1838, the Secretary of War addressed a reply to 
the proposals of the Cherokee delegation, in which he said: 

If it be desired by the Cherokee Nation that their own agents should have charge 
of their emigration, their wishes will be complied with and instructions be given to 
the commanding general in the Cherokee country to enter into arrangements with 
them to that effect. With regard to the expense of this operation, which you ask 
may be defrayed by the United States, in the opinion of the undersigned the request 
ought to be granted, and an application for such further sum as may be required for 
this purpose shall be made to Congress. 

A recommendation was made to Congress in compliance with this 
promise. Based upon an estimate of the probable cost thereof, Con- 
gress by act of June 12, 1838,! appropriated the sum of $1,047,067 in 
full for all objects specified in the third article of the treaty and the 
further object of aiding in the subsistence of the Indians for one year 
after their removal, with the proviso that no part thereof should be de- 
ducted from the $5,000,000 purchase money of their lands. 

Here was a Clear legislative affirmation of the terms offered by the 
Indians and acceded to by the Secretary of War. It was a new con- 
tract with the Ross party, outside of the treaty, or rather a new con- 
sideration offered to abide by its terms, by which the Secretary of War 
agreed that the expenses of removal and subsistence, as provided 
for by the treaty of 1835, should be borne by the United States, and 
Congress affirmed his act by providing that no part of the sum appro- 
priated should be charged to the treaty fund. The appropriation thus 
made proved wholly inadequate for the purposes of removal and subsist- 
ence, the expense of which aggregated $2,952,196.26,? of which the sum 
of $972,844.78 was expended for subsistence. Of this last amount, 
however, $172,316.47 was furnished to the Indians when in great desti- 
tution upon their own urgent application, after the expiration of the 
“one year,” upon the understanding that it was to be deducted from 
the moneys due them under the treaty. This left the net sum of 
$800,528.31 paid for subsistence and charged to the aggregate fund. Of 
this sum the United States provided by the act of June 12, 1835, for 
$611,105.55, leaving unprovided for, the sum of $189,422.76. This, 


1 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. V, p. 241. 
2See report of Second Auditor and Second Comptroller to Congress, December 3, 
1849. 


312 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


added to the balance of $724,603.37 found due in pursuance of the 
report of the accounting officers of the Treasury,' amounted in the ag- 
gregate to $914,626.13. 

The item of $189,422.76 was appropriated, as previously stated, by 
the act of September 30, 1850, and that of $724,603.37 by the act of 
February 27, 1851. Interest was allowed on each sum at the rate of 
5 per cent. per annum from the date of the act of June 12, 1838, with 
the understanding that it should be in full satisfaction and a final set- 
tlement of all claims and demands whatsoever of the Cherokee Nation 
against the United States under any treaty theretofore made with 
them. Instructions were issued? in the fall of 1851 to John Drennan, 
superintendent of Indian affairs, to proceed without delay to make 
the payment. For this purpose a remittance was made to him at New 
Crleans of the sums of $1,032,182.33 and $276,179.84. The first of 
these sums, he was advised by his instructions, was intended for the 
per capita payment, principal and interest, to the Kastern Cherokees, 
or Ross party, in pursuance of the act of February 27, 1851. The 
latter was for a similar payment to the same parties in compliance with 
the terms of the act of September 30, 1850, previously mentioned. 
These sums were to be distributed, according to the census roll, among 
14,093 Cherokees within his superintendency, and were exclusive of the 
pro rata share to which those Cherokees east of the Mississippi living 
within the States of North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, and Alabama 
were entitled. For the payment of the latter a clerk was detailed from 
duty in the Office of Indian Affairs to act in the capacity of a special 
disbursing agent. 

The payments made by Superintendent Drennan, coupled with the 
conditions prescribed by the act of Congress, were very unsatisfactory 
to the Government or Ross party of Cherokees. Therefore their 
national council addressed? to the United States a solemn and formal 
protest against the injustice they had suffered through the treaties of 
1835 and 1846, and the statement of account rendered by the United 
States under the provisions of those treaties.t After thus placing 





1 See report of Second Auditor and Second Comptroller to Congress, December 3, 
1849. 

2November 17, 1851. 

8 November 29, 1851. 

4 After reciting in detail the ‘‘ forced” circumstances through which those treaties 
were brought about, they declared — 

1. That no adequate allowance had been made for the sums taken from the treaty 
fund of 1835 for removal; that though an appropriation had been made, the esti- 
mates upon which it was based were too small, and the balance was taken out of the 
Indian fund. 

2. That if allowable in any sense, the Government had no right to take from the 
Cherokee fund an expense for removal greater than the limit fixed by the eighth 
article of the treaty of 1835. 

3. That the alternative of receiving for subsistence $33.33, as provided for in the 





ROYCE. ] TREATY OF AUGUST 6, 1846. 313 


themselves on record, the Cherokees accepted the money and complied 
with the conditions prescribed in the act of Congress. 


AFFAIRS OF THE NORTH CAROLINA CHEROKEES. 


As has been already remarked, at the time of the general removal of 
the Cherokee Nation in 1838 many individuals fled to the mountains of 
Tennessee and North Carolina and refused to emigrate. They always 
maintained their right to an equal participation in the personal bene- 
fits provided in the treaty of 1835, which, though not denied, was held 
by the executive authorities of the United States to be conditional 
upon their removal west. At length by an act of Congress approved 
July 29, 1848,' provision was made for causing a census to be taken of 
all those Cherokees who remained in the State of North Carolina after 
the ratification of the treaty of 1835 and who had not since removed 
west. An appropriation was made equal to $53.334 for each of such 
individuals or his or her representative, with interest at 6 per cent per 
annum from the 23d of May, 1836. Furthermore, whenever any of such 
individuals should manifest a desire to remove and join the tribe west 
of the Mississippi, the Secretary of War was authorized to expend their 
pro rata share of the foregoing fund, or so much thereof as should be 
necessary, toward defraying the expense of such removal and subsist- 
ence for one year thereafter, the balance, if any, to be paid to the indi- 
vidual entitled. The amount of this appropriation, it was stipulated, 
should be refunded to the United States Treasury from the general 
fund of the Cherokee Nation under the treaty of 1835. The census men- 
tioned was taken by J. C. Mullay in 1849, and the number found to be 
entitled to the benefits of the appropriation was 1,517,? which by addi- 
tions was increased to 2,133. Under the appropriation acts of Septem- 








treaty of 1835, was refused to be complied with and their people forced to receive 
rations in kind at double the cost. 

4. That the cost of the rations issued by the. commandant at Fort Gibson to 
“indigent Cherokees” was improperly charged to the treaty fund, without legal 
authority. 

5. That the United States was bound to reimburse the amount paid to some two 
or three hundred Cherokees who emigrated prior to 1835, but who were refused a 
participation in the ‘‘ Old Settler” fund. 

6. That the Cherokees who remained in the States of Georgia, North Carolina, and 
Tennessee were not entitled to any share in the per capita fund, inasmuch as they 
complied with neither of two conditions of their remaining East; and also because 
the census of those Cherokees was believed to be enormously exaggerated. 

7. That the sum of $103,000 had been charged upon the treaty fund for expenses of 
Cherokees in Georgia during three months they were all assembled and had reported 
themselves to General Scott as ready to take up their emigration march. 

8. That interest should be paid on the balance found due them from April 15, 1851, 
until paid, Congress having no power to abrogate the stipulations of a treaty. 

9. That $20,000 of the funds of the emigrant Cherokees were taken to pay the 
counsel and agents of the Old Settler party withont anthority. 

' United States Statutes at Large, Vol. IX, p. 264. "6 

2Commissioner of Indian Affairs to Secretary of Interior, February 10, 1874. 


314 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


ber 30, 1850, and February 27, 1851, these Cherokees remaining east of 
the Mississippi were entitled to their pro rata share of the amounts thus 
appropriated. Alfred Chapman was accordingly detailed! from the In- 
terior Department to make the per capita payment, and was furnished 
with the amounts of $41,367.31 and $156,167.19 under those respective 
acts. He was directed to base his payments upon the census roll fur- 
nished him, which showed 2,133 Indians to be entitled. By section 3 of an 
actapproyed March 3, 1855,? provision was made for the distribution per 
capita among the North Carolina Cherokees on the Mullay roll® of the 
fund established by the act of July 29, 1845, provided that each Indian 
so receiving such payment in full should assent thereto. As a further 
condition to the execution of this act it was stipulated that satisfactory 
assurance should be given by the State of North Carolina, before such 
payment, that the Cherokees in question should be permitted to remain 
permanently in that State. The desired legislative assurance was not 
given by North Carolina until February 19, 1866, and the money was 
not, therefore, distributed, but carried to the surplus fund in the Treas- 
ury. Afterwards, by act of March 3, 1875,‘ it was made applicable to 
the purchase and payment of lands, expenses in quieting titles, ete. 

In order to determine who were the legal heirs and representatives of 
those enrolled in 1849, but since deceased, the Secretary of the Interior 
was directed by an act of Congress, approved July 27, 1868,° to cause 
another census to be taken, to serve as a guide in future payments. It 
was further provided by the same act that the Secretary ofthe Interior 
should cause the Commissioner of Indian Affairs to take the same super- 
visory charge of this as of any other tribe of Indians. 

This second census was taken by 8. H. Sweatland in 1869, and he 
was instructed to make payment of interest then due to the Indians, 
guided by his roll, but on the same principle on which previous pay- 
ments had been effected, that is, to those individuals only whose names 
appeared on the Mullay census roll, or their legal heirs or representa- 
tives, as ascertained by census taken by himself. As remarked by the 
Commissioner of Indian Affairs, the difficulty of tracing Indian geneal- 
ogy through its various complications, in order to determine who are 
legal representatives of deceased Indians, without any rules by which 
hereditary descent among them may be clearly established, was fully 
demonstrated in the payment made by Mr. Sweatland, which was the 
occasion of many complaints and even of litigation. 


' November 20, 1851. 
* United States Statutes at Large, Vol. X, p. 700. 

*The fourth section of this same act made provision that the eighth section of 
the act of July 31, 1854 (United States Statutes at Large, Vol. X, pp. 315), author- 
izing the payment of per capita allowance to Cherokees east of the Mississippi, be so 
amended as to authorize the payment of all such Cherokees as, being properly entitled, 
were omitted from the roll of D, W. Siler from any cause whatever, 

‘*United States Statutes at Large, Vol. XVIII, p. 447. 

5 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. XV, p. 228. 


noyce. | TREATY OF AUGUST 6, 1846. 315 


The landed interests of these North Carolina Cherokees had also 
since the treaty of 1835 become iwnuch complicated, and through their 
confidence in others, coupled with their own ignorance of proper busi- 
ness methods, they were likely to lose the title to their homes. At this 
juncture Congress, by an act approved July 15, 1870,' authorized suit 
in equity to be brought in the name of the Eastern Band of Cherokee 
Indians in the district or circuit courts of the United States for the 
recovery of their interest in certain lands in North Carolina. This suit 
was instituted in the circuit court of the United States for the western 
district of North Carolina in May, 1875, against William H. Thomas 
and William Johnston. Thomas, as the agent and trustee of the In- 
dians, it was alleged had received (between 1836 and 1861) from them 
and for their benefit large sums of money, which had or ought to have 
been invested by him, in pursuance of various contracts with the In- 
dians, in certain boundaries of land as well as in a number of detached 
tracts. The legal title to all these lands was taken by Thomas, and was 
still held in his own name, he having in the mean time become non 
compos mentis. It was alleged against the other defendant, Johnston, 
that in the year 1869 he had procured sales to be made of all these lands 
to satisfy judgments obtained by him against Thomas, and that he had 
bought in the lands at these sales and taken sheriff’s deeds therefor, 
althongh having himself a knowledge of the existing equities of the 
Indians. In fact, that after the purchase of the lands he had entered 
into a contract with the Indians to release to them all the rights he had 
acquired by such purchase for the sum of $30,000, payable within eight- 
een months. Under this contract, and at the time of its execution, the 
Indians paid him $6,500. 

A suit in law was also instituted, at the same time with the foregoing, 
against James W. Terrell, their former agent (from 1853 to 1861), and 
his sureties, the above named Thomas and Johnston, to recover a balance 
of Cherokee funds which he had received for their use from the United 
States and which it was alleged he had not properly accounted for. 

At the May term, 1874, of the circuit court the matters in dispute were 
by agreement submitted to a board of arbitrators. The arbitrators made 
their report and award, which were confirmed by the court at the Novem- 
ber term, 1874. 

The award finds that Thomas purchased for the Indians as a tribe 
and with their funds a large tract of land on Soco Creek and Oconalufty 
River and their tributaries, known as the Qualla boundary, and esti- 
mated by the arbitrators to contain 50,000 acres. It declares that such 
tract belongs to and shall be held by the Eastern Band of Cherokees as 
a tribe. 

The award also determines the titles of a large number of individual 
Indians to tracts of land outside of the Qualla boundary. It further 
finds that the Indians owe Thomas a balance toward the purchase- 





‘United States Statutes at Large, Vol. XVI, p. 362. 


Gm CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


money of the Qualla boundary of $18,250, from which should be de- 
ducted the sum of $6,500 paid by the Indians to Johnston, with interest 
thereon to the date of the award, amounting in the aggregate to $8,486. 

The award also finds that Terrell and his bondsmen are responsible 
to the Cherokees for an unaccounted-for balance of $2,697.89, which 
should also be deducted from the amount due Thomas, leaving a net 
balance due from the Indians on the purchase money of the Qualla 
boundary of $7,066. “Upon the payment of this sum the award declares 
they should be entitled to a conveyance from Johnston of the legal title 
to all the lands embraced within that boundary.! 

To enable the Indians to clear off this lien npon their lands, Congress, 
upon the recommendation of the Indian Department, provided by the 
terms of an act approved March 3, 1875,? that the funds set apart by 
the act of July 29, 1848, should be applied under the direction of the 
Secretary of the Interior for the use and benefit of the Eastern Band of 
Cherokees. Specifically these funds were to be used in perfecting the 
titles to the lands awarded to them and to pay the costs, expenses, and 
liabilities attending their recent litigations, also to purchase and ex- 
tinguish the titles of any white persons to lands within the general 
boundaries allotted to them by the court and for the education, improve- 
ment, and civilization of their people. This was done and the Indians 


April 3, 1875. : 

?United States Statutes at Large Vol. XVIII, p. 447. 

‘A short time prior (September 11, 1874) to the filing of the award of the arbitrators 
in the case of the Indians vs. Thomas, an agreement was made between the parties 
in interest to refer certain matters of dispute between Thomas and Johnston to the con- 
sideration and determination of the same arbitrators. As the result of this reference 
an award was made which showed that there was due from Thomas to Johnston upon 
three several judgments the sum of $33,887.11. Upon this sum, however, credits to 
the amount of $15,552.11 (including the $6,500 with interest paid to Johnston by the 
Cherokees under contract of September, 1869) were allowed, leaving the net amount 
due to Johnston $18,335, which sum he was entitled to collect with interest until paid, 
together with the costs taxed in the three judgments aforesaid. The arbitrators 
further found that Johnson held sheriff’s deeds for considerable tracts of land which 
had been sold as the property of Thomas and which were not included among the 
jauds held by him in trust for the Indians. These tracts Johnston had bought in by 
reason of clouds upon the title and “ forbiddals” of the sales at a merely nominal figure. 
It was therefore declared that these sherifis’ deeds should be held by Johnston only 
as security for the payment of the balance due him on the judgments in question and 
for the costs taxed on each. It was further directed that Terrell and Johnston should 
make sale of so much of the lands embraced in the sherift’s deeds alluded to (exclud- 
ing those awarded to the Cherokee Indians either as a tribe or as individuals) as 
would produce a sum sufficient to satisfy the above balance of $18,335 with interest and 
costs. 

Following this award of the arbitrators Mr. Jobuston submitted a proposition for 
the transfer and assignment of these judgments to the Eastern Band of Cherokees. 
Based upon this offer, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs reported to the Secretary of 
the Interior June 2, 1875, that the interests of the Indians required the acceptance of 





ROYCE. ] TREATY OF AUGUST 6, 1846. DLC 
TROPOSED REMOVAL OF TILE CATAWBA INDIANS TO THE CHEROKEE COUNTRY. 


It is perhaps pertinent to remark before proceeding further that by 
the terms of an act of Congress approved July 29, 1848 (United States 
Statutes at Large, Vol. LX, p. 264), an appropriation of $5,000 was made 
to defray the expenses of removing the Catawba Indians from Caro- 
lina to the country west of the Mississippi River, provided their as- 
sent should be obtained, and also conditioned upon success in securing 
a home for them among some other congenial tribe in that region with- 
out cost to the Government. 

These Catawbas were but a miserable remnant of what a century and 
a half earlier had been one of the most powerful and warlike of the 
Southern tribes. They once occupied and controlled a large region of 
country in the two Carolinas, though principally in the Southern prov- 
ince. Their generally accepted western limit was the Catawba River 
and its tributaries, the region between this. river and Broad River 
being usually denominated a neutral hunting ground for both the 
Catawbas and the Cherokees. An enmity of long standing had existed 
between the Catawbas and the Six Nations, and war parties of both 
nations for many years were wont to make long and devastating forays 
into each other’s territory. The casualties of war and the ravages of 
infectious diseases had long prior to the beginning of the present cen- 








of the President’s board of Indian commissioners, in a report to that body. Mr. J. W. 
Terrell, on behalf of the Eastern Cherokees, as well as their agent, W. C. McCarthy, 
joined in urging the acceptance of the proposal. 

Supported by these opinions and recommendations, the Secretary of the Interior, 
on the 3d of June, 1875, authorized the purchase of the Johnston judgments, and two 
days later a requisition was issued for the money, and instructions were given to 
Agent McCarthy to make the purchase. 

Under these instructions as subsequently modified (June 9, 1875), Agent McCarthy 
reported (July 27, 1875) the purchase of the judgments, amounting in the aggregate, 
including interest and costs, to $19,245.53, and an assignment of them was taken in 
the name of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs in trust for the Eastern Band of Chero- 
kee Indians of North Carolina. 

From investigations and reports afterward made by Inspectors Watkins and Van- 
dever, it appears that there was much uncertainty and confusion as to the actual 
status of these lands. The latter gentleman reported (April 10, 1876) that the second 
award made by the arbitrators was a private affair between Thomas and Johnston 
and was entirely separate and distinct from the first award in the case of the Indians. 
He also reported that,-despite the purchase of the Johnston judgments by the Indian 
Department in trust for the Indians, the two commissioners named in the second 
award proceeded to sell the lands upon which these judgments were a lien, and at 
the November, 1875, term of the court made a report of their proceedings, which was 
affirmed by the court. 

Taking into consideration all these complications, it was recommended by Inspector 
Vandever that an agent or commission be appointed, if the same could be done by 
consent of all parties, who should assume the duty of appraising the lands affected by 
the Johnston judgments, and that such quantity of the lands be selected for the Chero- 


318 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


Their territorial possessions had been curtailed to a tract of some fifteen 
miles square on the Catawba River, on the northern border of South 
Carolina, and the whites of the surrounding region were generally de- 
sirous of seeing them removed from the State. 

In pursuance therefore of the provisions of the act of 1548 an effort 
was made by the authorities of the United States to find a home for 
them west of the Mississippi River: Correspondence was opened with 
the Cherokee authorities on the subject during the summer of that year, 
but the Cherokees being unwilling to devote any portion of their do- 
main to the use and occupation of any other tribe without being fully 
compensated therefor, the subject was dropped. 


FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES OF THE CHEROKEES, 


Unusual expenditures are always incident to the removal and estab- 
lishment of a people in an entirely new country. Domestic dissensions 
and violence of a widespread character have a tendency to destroy the 
security of life and property usually felt in a-well governed community, 
and insecurity in this manner becomes the parent of idleness and the 
destroyer of ambition. 

Thus from a combination of adverse circumstances the Cherokees 
since their removal had been subjected to many losses of both an in- 





kees as would at such appraisal equal in value the amount of the judgments, interest, 
and costs, after which the remainder of the lands,if any, should be released to Mr. 
Thomas. ‘The representatives of Thomas and Johnston also submitted a proposition 
for adjustment to the Indians, who by resolution of their council (March, 1876) agreed 
to aceeptit. In the light of this action and of the recommendation of Inspector 
Vandever, Congress passed an act (August 14, 1876) authorizing the Commissioner of 
Indian Affairs to receive in payment of the amount due to the Indians on the John- 
ston judgments owned by them a sufficient quantity of the Thomas lands to satisfy, 
at the appraised value, the amount of such judgments, and to deed the lands thus 
accepted to the Eastern Band of Cherokees in fee simple. 

The commissoner of appraisal appointed and acting under this act of Congress, and 
under the supervision of Inspector Watkins, selected 15,211.2 acres, the appraised 
value of which was $20,561.35, being the exact amount, including interest and costs, 
due upon the judgments up to October 7, 1876, the date of appraisal. 

Thereupon a deed (known as the Watkins deed) was executed by the parties repre- 
senting the Johnston and Thomas interests, conveying the lands so selected to the 
Commissioner of Indian Affairs in the manner directed by the act of Congress, which 
deed it was agreed shonld be supplemented by a new one so soon as a more definite 
description could be given of the lands after survey. The surveys were made by M. 
S. Temple, who also surveyed the Qualla boundary tract, a deed for which latter 
tract (known as the Brooks deed) was executed direct to the Eastern Band of North 
Carolina Cherokee Indians, and the supplemental deed spoken of above was also exe- 
ented. Sundry difficulties and complications have continued from time to time to arise 
in connection with the affairs of these Indians, and as the most effective measure of pro- 
tection to their interests the Commissioner of Indian Affairs has suggested (April 26, 
1882) to Congress the advisability of placing the persons and property of these people 
under the jurisdiction of the United States district court for the western district of 
North Carolina. 


ROYCE. ] TREATY OF AUGUST 6, 1816 319 


dividual and a national character. Their debts had come to be very 
oppressive, and they were anxiously devising methods of relief. 

Proposed cession of the “neutral land.”—At length in the fall of 1852 
they began to discuss the propriety of retroceding to the United States 
the tract of 800,000 acres of additional land purchased by them from the 
_ Government under the provisions of the treaty of 1835. This tract was 
commonly known as the “neutral land,” and occupied the southeast 
corner of what is now the State of Kansas. 

It was segregated from the main portion of their territory, and had 
never been occupied by any considerable number of their people. After 
a full discussion of the subject in their national council it was decided 
to ask the United States to purchase it, and a delegation was appointed 
to enter into negotiations on the subject. They submitted their propo- 
sition in two communications,! but after due consideration it was de- 
cided by the Secretary of the Interior? to be inexpedient for the Gov- 
ernment to entertain the idea of purchase at that time. Thereupon, un- 
der instructions from their national council, they withdrew the propo- 
sition. 

As soon as the Cherokees resident in North Carolina and the neigh- 
boring States learned of this proposed disposition of the ‘neutral 
land” they filed a protest® against any sale of it that did not make 
full provision for securing to them a proportional share of the proceeds. 


MURDER OF THE ADAIRS AND OTHERS. 


In September of this year occurred another of those sudden acts of 
violence which had too frequently marked the history of the Cherokee 
people during the preceding fifteen years. Superintendent Drew first 
reported * to the Indian Office that a mob of one hundred armed men 
had murdered two unoffending citizens, Andrew and Washington Adair; 
that not less than two hundred men were in armed resistance to the 
authorities of the nation, who were unable or disinclined to suppress 
the insurrection, and that from sixty to one hundred of the best-known 
friends of the Adairs had been threatened with a fate similar to theirs. 
The presence and protection of an additional force of United States 
troops was therefore asked to preserve order in the Cherokee country 
and to allay the fears of the settlers along the border of Arkansas. 

An additional United States force was accordingly dispatched, but 
the Cherokee authorities found little difficulty in controlling and allay- 
ing the excitement and disorder without their aid. In truth, the first 
report had been in large measure sensational, the facts as reported by 





! February 17 and March 17, 1853. 

? March 26, 1853. 

‘This protest bore date of November 9, 1853, and was filed by Edwin Follin, as 
their attorney or representative. 

4September 21, 1853. 


320 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


Agent Butler some two months later! being that the murder was oe- 
easioned by a purely personal difficulty and had no conneetion with any 
of the bitter political animosities that had cursed the nation for so 
many years. It seems that several years previous to the murder a 
Cherokee by the name of Proctor and one of the Adairs had a difficulty. 
Adair’s friends took Proctor a prisoner through false pretenses and 
murdered him while in their hands. Proctor’s friends in consequence 
were much enraged and made violent threats of retaliation. In faet 
during the period immediately folowing Proctor’s death several other 
persons had been killed in consequence of the existing feud. The mur- 
der of the Adairs was the culmination of their enemies’ revenge. The 
murderers were arrested, tried, and acquitted by the Cherokee courts.? 


FINANCIAL DISTRESSES — NEW TREATY PROPOSED. 


The year 1854 was in an unusual degree a period of quiet and com- 
parative freedom from internal dissensions among the Cherokees. Their 
government was, however, still in an embarrassed financial condition. 
Their national debt was constantly increasing, and they possessed no 
revenue aside from the small income derived from the interest on their 
invested funds in the hands of the United States. 

For a while, following the payment of their per capita money, they 
were in the enjoyment of plenty, but with the natural improvidence of 
a somewhat primitive people, their substance was wasted and no last- 
ing benefits were derived therefrom. To add to their embarrassments. 
a severe drought throughout the summer resulted in an almost total 
failure of their crops. Distress and starvation seemed to be staring 
them in the face. Their schools, in which they had taken much com- 
mendable pride, were languishing for want of the funds necessary to 
their support, and the general outlook was anything but cheerful.’ 

In this dilemma a delegation was sent to Washington with authority 
and instructions to negotiate, if possible, another treaty with the United 
States, based upon the following conditions ;* 

1. The Cherokecs to retrocede to the United States the 800,000 acre 
tract of ‘‘ neutral land” at the price of $1.25 per acre, as a measure of 
relief from their public debt burdens and to replenish their exhausted 
school fund. 

2. To cede to the United States the unsold portion of the 12-mile- 
square school fund tract in Alabama, set apart by the treaty of 1819, 
also at $1.25 per acre, together with the other small reserves in Tennes- 
see set apart for the same purpose and by the same treaty, for which 
latter tracts they should receive $20,000. 


‘November 22, 1853. 

> Letter of Agent Butler, dated November 380, 1853. 

*Annual report of Agent Butler for 1854. 

‘The delegation submitted these propositions in a communication to the Commis- 
sioner of Indian Affairs, dated December 28, 1854. 


ROYCE. ] TREATY OF AUGUST 6, 1846. 321 


3. The United States to compensate the Cherokees living on the 
800,000 acre tract for the value of their improvements. 

4. The United States to rectify the injustice done to many individual 
Cherokees in regard to their claims under the treaty of 1835. 

5. The United States to compensate the Cherokees for damages sus- 
tained through the action of citizens of the former in driving and pas- 
turing stock in the Cherokee country, and to provide effectual measures 
for the prevention of such losses in the future. 

6. The United States to cause a careful investigation to e made as to 
the status of the Cherokee invested fund and to render an account of 
the accrued and unpaid interest thereon. 

7. The Cherokees to be reimbursed for money expended out of their 
funds for subsistence after the expiration of the period of “ one year” 
provided by the treaty of 1835, but before their people had opportunity 
to become settled in their new homes 

8. A just compensation to be made to the Cherokees for the heavy 
losses sustained in their sudden and forced removal from their Eastern 
home. 

9. An absolute and speedy removal of the garrison at Fort Gibson. 

10. That the treaty should contain a clear and specific definition of 
the rights and status of the Cherokee Nation in its political attitude 
toward and relations with the United States. 

The proposed treaty formed the subject of much careful considera- 
tion, and negotiations were conducted throughout a large portion of 
the winter, without, however, reaching satisfactory results. 

The failure of the delegation to secure definite action on these mat- 
ters caused a great degree of dissatisfaction among all classes of their 
people.! They were anxious to sell their surplus detached land, and 
by that means free themselves from financial embarrassment. They 
were fully conscious that, so long as their financial affairs continued in 
such a erippled condition, there was little ground for a hopeful advance- 
ment in their morals or civilization. A traditional prejudice against 
the policy of parting with any of their public domain was deep seated 
and well nigh universal among the Cherokees, but so grinding and irk- 
some had the burdens of their pecuniary responsibilities becoine and so 
anxious were they to discharge in good faith their duty to their cred- 
itors that this feeling of aversion was subordinated to what was believed 
to be a national necessity. 


SLAVERY IN THE CHEROKEE NATION. 


The reports of the Cherokee agent during the year 1855 devote con- 
siderable space to the discussion of the slavery question in its relations 
to and among that nation, from which it appears that considerable local 
excitement, as well as a general feeling of irritation and insecurity 
among the holders of slave property, had been superinduced by the 





‘Annual report of Agent Butler for 1855. 
* ETH——21 


322 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


antislavery teachings of the Northern missionaries and emissaries of the 
various free soil organizations throughout the North. Three years later 
the agent reported that the amicable relations which existed between 
the Cherokees and the General Government certainly merited the lat- 
ter’s fostering care and protection, for already they were evincing much 
interest in all questions that concerned its welfare; that the majority 
of them were strongly national or democratic in political sympathy, 
though it was with regret he was obliged to report the existence of a 
few black republicans, who were the particular foundlings of the aboli- 
tion missionaries. This same agent the following year (1859), after 
commending their enterprise and thrift, remarks: ‘‘I am clearly of 
the opinion that the rapid advancement of the Cherokees is owing in 
part to the fact of their being slaveholders, which has operated as an 
incentive to all industrial pursuits, and I believe if every family of the 
wild roving tribes of Indians were to own a negro man and woman, who 
would teach them to cultivate the soil and to properly prepare and cook 
their food, and could have a schoolmaster appointed for every district, 
it would tend more to civilize them than any plan that could be adopted.” 
The latter part of this proposition perhaps no one would be willing to 
dispute, but in the light of twenty-five years of eventful history made 
since its promulgation, the author himself, if still living, would scarcely 
be so ‘“‘clearly of opinion” concerning the soundness of his first as- 
sumption. 


REMOVAL OF WHITE SETTLERS ON CHEROKEE LAND. 


The year 1856 was characterized by no event in the official history of 
the Cherokees of special importance, except, perhaps, the expulsion of 
white settlers who had intruded upon the “neutral lands,” in which the 
aid of the military forces of the United States was invoked. 


FORT GIBSON ABANDONED BY THE UNITED STATES. 


The long and urgent demands of the Cherokees for the withdrawal 
of the garrison of United States troops at Fort Gibson was at length 
complied with in the year 1857,' and under the terms of the third arti- 
cle of the treaty of 1835 the fort and the military reserve surrounding it 
reverted to and became a part of the Cherokee national domain. In 
his annual message of that year to the Cherokee council John Ross, 
their principa! chief, recommended the passage of a law which should 
authorize the site of the post to be laid off into town lots and sold to 
citizens for the benefit of the nation, reserving such lots and buildings 
as seemed desirable for future disposition, and providing for the suit- 
able preservation of the burying-grounds in which, among others, re- 
posed the remains of several officers of the United States Army. This 
recommendation was favorably acted upon by the council, and town 








‘Annual report of Agent Butler for 1857. 


ROYCE ] TREATY OF AUGUST 6, 1846. 323 


lots sold exclusively to the citizens of the nation brought the sum of 
$20,000. 


REMOVAL OF TRESPASSERS ON ‘* NEUTRAL LAND.” 


White settlers having for several years preceding, in defiance of the 
notification and authority of the General Government, continued their 
encroachments and settlement on the ‘Cherokee neutral land,” and the 
Cherokee authorities having made repeated complaints of these unau- 
thorized intrusions, measures were taken to remove the cause of com- 
plaint. Notice was therefore given to these settlers in the winter of 
1859, requiring them to abandon the lands by the 1st of April follow- 
ing. No attention was paid to the notice, but the settlers went on and 
planted their crops as usual. The newly appointed Cherokee agent, 
haying failed to reach his agency until late in the spring, proceeded to 
the neutral land in August, and again notified the trespassers to remove 
within thirty-five days. To this they paid no more heed than to the 
first notification. Some two months later, therefore, the agent, ac- 
companied by a detachment of United States dragoons, under com- 
mand of Captain Stanley, marched into the midst of the settlers and 
again commanded their immediate removal. Upon their refusal to com- 
ply he adopted the plan of firing their cabins, which soon brought them 
to terms. They proposed that if he would desist in his forcible meas- 
ures and withdraw the troops, they would quietly remove on or before 
the 25th of November, unless in the mean time they should receive the 
permission of the Government to remain during the winter. This the 
agent agreed to, and subsequently the permission was granted them to 
so remain. 

In connection with this subject it appears from the records of the De- 
partment that owing to an error in protracting the northern boundary 
of the “neutral land,” the line was made to run 8 or 9 miles south 
of the true boundary, leaving outside of the reserve as it was marked 
on the map, a strip known as the ‘dry woods,” which should have been 
ineluded in it; it was generally believed that the ‘dry woods” was a 
part of the New York Indian reservation, on which settlements were 
permitted, and as the settlers on that particular portion had gone there 
in good faith the agent did not molest them.’ The Secretary of the 
Interior himself expressed the opinion that the ‘‘dry woods” settlers 
were law abiding citizens and had settled there under a misapprehen- 
sion of the facts, and that as they had expended large sums in opening 
and improving their farms it would be a great hardship if they should 
be compelled to remove. He therefore suspended the execution of the 
law as to them until the approaching session of Congress, in order that 





' Annual report of Agent Butler for 1858, 

2 October 10, 1860. 

3 See reports of Agent Cowart in November, 1860, in Indian Office report of 1860, pp. 
224, 225. 


324 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


they might have an opportunity of applying to that body for relief, 
The Cherokees it was well known were anxious to dispose of the land, 
and the Secretary declared his intention of recommending the passage 
of a law with their consent, providing for the survey and sale of the 
“neutral lands,” after the manner of disposing of the public lands, the 
proceeds to be applied to the benefit of the Cherokees. The outbreak 
of the great rebellion so soon thereafter, however, precluded the con- 
summation of this proposed legislation. 


JOHN ROSS OPPOSES SURVEY AND ALLOTMENT OF CHEROKEE DOMAIN, 


During the winter of 1859~60, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 
believing that a survey and subdivision of the Cherokee national do- 
main, and its allotment in severalty among the members of the tribe, 
would produce an effect favorable to their progress in the cultivation 
of the soil, submitted the suggestion for the consideration of their law- 
fully constituted authorities. John Ross, as principal chief of the nation, 
in replying to this suggestion,' declined on behalf of the nation to give it 
favorable consideration, (1) because it conflicted with the general 
policy of the Government through which the Cherokees were removed 
from their homes east of the Mississippi River; (2) because it was in- 
consistent with existing treaties between the United States and the 
Cherokee Nation ; (3) because it could not be done without a change in 
the constitution of the nation; and, finally, that it would not be ben- 
eficial to the Cherokee people. 


POLITICAL EXCITEMENT IN 1860. 


The year 1860 was characterized by great excitement and local dis- 
turbances. Many affrays occurred and numerous murders were perpe- 
trated. The excitement and bitterness of feeling involved in the issues 
at stake between the great political parties of the country in the pend- 
ing Presidential election extended to and pervaded the entire popula- 
tion of the civilized tribes of Indian Territory. 

They were many of them slaveholders, especially the half-breeds and 
mixed bloods. They therefore vehemently resented the introduction 
and dissemination of any doctrines at variance with the dogma of the 
divine origin of slavery or that should set up any denial of the moral 
and legal right of the owner to the continued possession of his slave 
property. The missionaries and many of the school teachers among 
the Cherokees were persons of strong anti-slavery convictions, and the 
former especially were zealous in their dissemination of doctrines fatal 
alike to the peace and endurance of a slave community. In Septem- 
ber John B. Jones, a Baptist missionary, who had devoted much of his 
life to Christian work among the Indians, was notified by the agent to 
leave the country within three weeks, because of the publication of an 
article from his pen in a Northern paper, wherein he stated that he 





1 January 1, 1860. 


ROYCE. ] TREATY OF AUGUST 6, 1846. 329 


was engaged in promulgating anti-slavery sentiments among his flock.! 
Others were in like manner compelled to leave, and the excitement con- 
tinued to increase daily until the outbreak of hostilities precipitated by 
the attack on Fort Sumter. 

Before the actual outbreak of hostilities, in the winter of 1860, ad- 
herents of the Southern cause, among the most effectual and influential of 
whom were the official agents of the United States accredited to the In- 
dian tribes, were active in propagating the doctrines of secession among 
the Cherokees, as well as among other tribes of the Indian Territory. Se- 
cret societies were organized, especially among the Cherokees, and Stand 
Watie, the recognized leader of the old Ridge or Treaty party, was the 
leader of an organization of Southern predilections known as the 
Knights of the Golden Circle. A counter organization was formed from 
among the loyally inclined portion of the nation, most, if not all, of 
whom were members of the Government or Ross party. The member- 
ship of this latter society was composed principally of full blood Chero- 
kees, and they termed themselves the “ Ki-tu-wha,” a name by which 
the Cherokees were said to have been known in their ancient confed- 
erations with other Indian tribes.’ The distinguishing badge of mein- 
bership in this association was a pin worn in a certain position on the 
coat, vest, or hunting shirt, from whence members were given the des- 
ignation in common parlance of “Pin” Indians. According to the 
statement of General Albert Pike, however (and I think he gives the 
correct version), this ‘ Pin” society was organized and in full operation 
long before the beginning of the secession difficulties, and was really 
established for the purpose of depriving the half-breeds of all political 
power.’ Be this as it may, however, the society was made to represent 
in the incipient stages of the great American conflict the element of 
opposition to an association with the Southern Confederacy and on one 
occasion it prevented the distinctively Southern element under the lead- 
ership of Stand Watie from raising a Confederate flag at Tahlequah.* 
It was also alleged to have been established by the Rey. Evan Jones, a 
missionary of more than forty years’ standing among the Cherokees, as 
an instrument for the dissemination of anti-slavery doctrines.° 


1Letter of Agent R. J. Cowart ve Ghassan Indian Affairs, Septer bers 8, 1860. 

2Letter of S. W. Butler, published in Philadelphia North American, January 24, 
1863. 

3 Letter of General Albert Pike to Commissioner of Indian Affairs, February 17, 1866, 
published in pamphlet report of Commissioner of Indian Affairs to the President, bear- 
ing date June 15, 1866. 

4Letter of S. W. Butler, in Philadelphia North American, January 24, 1863, and let- 
ter of General Albert Pike to Commissioner of Indian Affairs, February 17, 1866. 

5 Letter of Albert Pike, February 17, 1866. The delegates representing the ‘‘South- 
ern Cherokees,” in their statement to the United States commissioners at the Fort 
Smith conference, September 16, 1865, say: ‘‘ Years before the war one portion of the 
Cherokees was arrayed in deadly hostility against the other; a secret organized so- 
ciety called the ‘Pins,’ led by John Ross and Rey. Jones, had sworn destruction to 
the half-bloods and white men of the nation outside this organization,” ete. 











326 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 
CHEROKEES AND THE SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY, 


In May, 1861, General Albert Pike, of Arkansas, was requested by Hon. 
Robert Toombs, secretary of state of the Confederate States, to visit 
the Indian Territory as a commissioner, and to assure the Indians of 
the friendship of those States. He proceeded to Fort Smith,! where, 
in company with General Benjamin McCulloch, he was waited on by a 
delegation of Cherokees representing the element of that people who 
were enthusiastically loyal to the Confederacy and who were desirous 
of ascertaining whether in case they would organize and take up arms 
for the South the latter would engage to protect them from the hos- 
tility of John Ross and the association of “Pin” Indians who were 
coutrolied by him.? Assurances were given of the desired protection, 
and messengers were sent to a number of the prominent leaders of the 
anti-Ross party to meet General Pike at the Creek Agency, two days 
after he should have held an interview with Ross, then contemplated, 
at Park Hill. General Pike, as he alleges, had no idea of concluding 
any terms with Ross, and his intention was to treat with the leaders 
of the Southern party at the Creek Agency. At the meeting held 
with Ross at Park Hill, the latter refused to enter into any arrange- 
ment with the Confederate Government, and obstinately insisted on 
maintaining an attitude of strict neutrality. After vainly endeavoring 
to shake the old man’s purpose, General McCulloch at length agreed 
to respect his neutrality so long as the Federal forces should refrain 
from entering the Cherokee country.’ 

General McCulloch having been ordered by the Confederate authori- 
ties to take command of ae district of country embracing the Indian 
Territory, with headquarters at Fort Smith, addressed* a communica- 
tion to Onn Ross again assuring him of his intention to respect the 
neutrality of the Cherokee people, except that all those members of the 
tribe who should so desire must be permitted to enlist in the Confeder- 
ate army, without interference or molestation, for purposes of defense 
in case of an invasion from the North. To this Ross replied,’ reassert- 
ing the determination of the Cherokees to maintain a strict neutrality 
between the contending parties. He refused his consent to any organ- 
ization or enlistment of Cherokee troops into the Confederate service, 
for the reason, first, if would be a palpable violation of the Cherokee 
position of neutrality, and, second, it would place in their midst organ- 
ized companies not authorized by the Cherokee laws, but in violation of 
treaty, and which would soon become effective instruments in stirring up 
domestic strife and creating internal difficulties among the Cherokee 
people. General McCulloch in his letter had assumed that his proposi- 





‘Early in eae 1861, 
2 Letter of General Albert Pike to Commissioner of Indian Affairs, February 17, 1866. 
8Thid. 

4 June 12, 1861. 

6 June 17, 1861. 


ROYCE, ] TREATY OF AUGUST 6, 1846. 327 


tion for permitting enlistments of Cherokees of Confederate sympathies 
was in accordance with the views expressed to him by Ross in an inter- 
view occurring some eight or ten days previous, wherein the latter had 
observed that in case of an invasion from the North he himself would lead 
the Cherokees to repel it. Ross, in his reply above alluded to, takes 
occasion to assure McCulloch that the latter had misapprehended his 
language. It was only in case of a foreign invasion that he had offered 
to lead his men in repelling it. He had not signified any purpose as to 
an invasion by either the Northern or Southern forces, because he had 
not apprehended and could not give his consent to any. 

Some time in August! a convention was assembled at Tahlequah upon 
the eall of John Ross, to take into consideration the question of the 
difficulties and dangers surrounding the Cherokee Nation and to de- 
termine the most advisable method of procedure. At this convention 
a number of speeches were made, all of which were bitterly hostile in 
tone to the United States and favorable to an open alliance with the 
Southern Confederacy. Ross, among others, gave free expression to 
his views, and according to the published version of his remarks gave 
it as his opinion that an understanding with the Confederacy was the 
best thing for the Cherokees and ail other Indians to secure and that 
without delay; that, as for himself, he was and always had been a 
Southern man, a State rights man; born in the South, and a slave- 
holder; that the South was fighting for its rights against the oppres- 
sions of the North, and that the true position of the Indians was with 
the Southern people. After this speech the convention, which was at- 
tended by four thousand male Cherokees, adopted without a dissenting 
voice a resolution to abandon their relations with the United States and 
to form an alliance with the Confederacy. 

Treaties between Confederate States and various Southern tribes.—General 
Pike did not see Ross again until September.” In the meantime, the lat- 
ter had secured the attendance of alarge number of representatives of 
both Northern and Southern tribes, at a convocation held at Antelope 
Hills, wherea unanimous agreement was reached to maintain astrict neu- 
trality in the existing hostilities between their white neighbors. The 
alleged purpose of this assembly, as stated by General Pike, was to take 
advantage of the war between the States, and form a great independent 
Indian confederation, but he defeated its purpose by concluding a treaty 
with the Creeks on behalf of the Confederate States, while their dele- 
gates were actually engaged in council at the Antelope Hills. Follow- 
ing his negotiations with the Creeks, he concluded treaties in quick 
succession with the Choctaws and Chickasaws, the Seminoles, the Wich- 
itas, and affiliated tribes, including the absentee Shawnees and Dela- 





1 According to the message of John Ross, as principal chief to the Cherokee national 
council, October 9, 1861, this convention was held on the 21st of August, 1861. 
2 Pike’s letter to Commissioner of Indian Affairs, February 17, 1866. 


328 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


wares, and the Comanches! On returning from his treaty with the 
Comanches, he was met before reaching Fort Arbuckle by a messenger 
bearing a letter from Ross and his council, accompanied by a copy of 
the resolutions of the council and a pressing personal invitation to re- 
pair to the Cherokee country and enter into a treaty with that tribe. 
He consented and named a day when he would meet Ross, at the same 
time writing the latter to notify the Osages, Quapaws, Senecas, and the 
confederated Senecas and Shawnees, to meet him at thesametime. At 
the time fixed he proceeded to Park Hill (Ross’s residence), where he 
concluded treaties with these various tribes? during the first week in 
October, reserving the negotiations with the Cherokees to the last, the 
treaty with whom was concluded on the 7th of the month at Tahlequah. 
This instrument was very lengthy, being comprised in fitty-five articles.® 
The preamble set forth that — 

The Congress of the Confederate States of America having, by an ‘“‘Act for the pro- 
tection of certain Indian tribes,” approved the 21st day of May, in the year of our 
Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, offered to assume and accept the 
protectorate of the several nations and tribes of Indians occupying the country west 
of Arkansas and Missouri, and to recognize them as their wards, subject to all the 
rights, privileges, immunities, titles and guarantees with each of said nations and 
tribes under treaties made with them by the United States of America; and the 
Cherokee Nation of Indians having assented thereto upon certain terms and con- 
ditions: Now, therefore, the said Confederate States of America, by Albert Pike, their 
commissioner, constituted by the President, under authority of the act of Congress 
in that behalf, with plenary powers for these purposes, and the Cherokee Nation by 
the principal chief, executive council, and commissioners aforesaid, has agreed to the 
following articles, ete. 

With some slight amendments to the instrument as originally con- 
cluded it was duly ratified by the Confederate States. 


CHEROKEE TROOPS FOR -THE CONFEDERATE ARMY. 


Long before* the conclusion of this treaty, authority was given by 
General McCulloch to raise a battalion of Cherokees for the service of 
the Confederate States. Under this authority a regiment was raised 
in December, 1861, and commanded by Stand Watie, the leader of the 
anti-Ross party. A regiment had also been previously raised, ostensi- 
by as home euardss the officerS of which had been appointed by Chief 





1 Pike’ s letter to Gannon of iden Agaire, Tenens 17, 1866. These treaties 
were concluded on the following dates respectively: Creek, July 10; Choctaw and 
Chickasaw, July 12; Seminole, August 1; Shawnees, Delawares, Wichitas, and affili- 
ated tribes resident in leased territory, and Comanches, August 12, 1861. 

2 The treaty with the Osages was concluded October 2, that with the Senecas and 
Shawnees on the same day, and also that with the Quapaws. (See Report Commis- 
sioner of Indian Affairs for 1865, p. 318.) 

>The text of this treaty was reprinted for the use of the United States treaty 
commissioners in 1866. 

‘August, 1861, See letter of Commissioner of Indian Affairs to the President, June 
15, 1866. 


ROYCE. ] TREATY OF AUGUST 6, 1846. 329 


Ross and the command assigned to Colonel Drew.! After the conelu- 
sion of the treaty this regiment was also placed at the service of the 
Confederate States, and in December? following, in an address to them, 
Ross remarked that he had raised the regiment “ to act in concert with 
the troops of the Southern Confederacy.” 

These two regiments actively participated and co-operated in the mili- 
tary operations of the Confederates until after the battle of Pea Ridge, 
in which they were engaged.’ In the summer of 1862,‘ following this 
battle, Colonel Weir, of the United States Army, commanding a force 
partly composed of loyal Indians on the northern border of the Chero- 
kee country, sent a proposition to John Ross urging that the Cherokees 
should repudiate their treaty with the Confederacy and return to their 
former relations with the United States, offering at the same time a safe 
conduct to Ross and such of his leading counselors as he should des- 
ignate through the Union lines to Washington, where they could nego- 
tiate a new treaty with the authorities of the United States. This prop- 
osition was declined peremptorily by Ross, who declared that the 
Cherokees disdained an alliance with a people who had authorized and 
practiced the most monstrous barbarities in violation of the laws of 
war; that the Cherokees were bound to the Confederate States by the 
faith of treaty obligations and by a community of sentiment and inter- 
est; that they were born upon the soil of the South and would stand or 
fall with the States of the South.’ 


A CHEROKEE CONFEDERATE REGIMENT DESERTS TO THE UNITED STATES. 


Colonel Drew’s regiment of Cherokees had now been in the Confeder- 
ate service about ten months. During that period they had remained 
unpaid, were scantily clothed, and were generally uncared for, un- 
thanked, and their services unrecognized." When, therefore, Colonel 
Weir invaded the Cherokee country in July, 1862, and the power and 





' General Albert Pike in his letter of February 17, 1866, speaks of being escorted 
from Fort Gibson to Park Hill on his way to conclude the treaty of October 7, 1861, 
by eight or nine companies of Colonel Drew’s regiment, which had been previously 
raised as a home guard by order of the national council. 

2 This address (printed as document No.7, accomhpanying the letter of Commissioner 
of Indian Affairs to the President, June 15, 1866) bears date of December 19, 1862. 
This is an evident typographical error for 1861, because the address was in the nature of 
a censure upon the regiment for its defection on the eve of a battle with the forces of 
O-poth-le-yo-ho-lo, the loyal Creek leader. This battle occurred at Bushy or Bird 
Creek, December 9, 1861, and before the expiration of another year Ross had left the 
Cherokee country under the escort of Colonel Weir. 

3Greeley’s American Conflict, Vol. I, p. 32; also, Report of Commissioner of Indian 
Affairs, June 15, 1866, aud numerous other official documents. 

‘Report of Commissioner of Indian Affairs to the President, June 15, 1866, p. 10, 

‘Letter of General Albert Pike, February 17, 1866; also letter of T. J. Mackey, 
June 4, 1366. 

® Letter of General Albert Pike, February 17, 1866. 


330 CUEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


prestige of the Confederacy seemed, for the time being, to have become 
less potent in that region, their troops having been withdrawn to other 
localities, these discontented and unfed Cherokee soldiers found them- 
selves in a condition ripe for revolt. Almost en masse, they abandoned 
the Confederate service and enlisted in that of the United States. 

Conduct of John Ross.—Ross, finding that he had been abandoned by 
Drew’s regiment, concluded to make a virtue of necessity and become a 
loyal man too, with the shrewd assertion that such had always been 
the true impulse of his heart; he had been overborne, however, by the 
authority and power of the Confederate Government and felt constrained 
to save his people and their material interests from total destruction by 
dissembling before the officials of that Government, seeking only the first 
opportunity, which he had now embraced, to return with his people to the 
fealty they so delighted to bear to the Federal Government.! He was es- 
corted out of the Cherokee country by Colonel Weir’s regiment and did 
not soon return. The burden of proof seems to be almost, if not quite, 
conclusive against his pretensions to loyalty up to this period, and now 
that the opportunity he had so long desired of placing himself and his 
people within the protection of the United States had arrived, instead 
of manifesting any of that activity which had characterized his conduct 
in behalf of the Confederate States, he retired to Philadelphia, and did 
not return to his people for three years.” 

O-poth-le-yo-ho-lu and his loyal followers.—General Pike, in his letter 
to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs pending the negotiation of the 
treaty of 1866, seeks to convey the impression that there were no ac- 
tively loyal Indians among the Southern tribes during the incipient 
stages of the rebellion, and perhaps this is in large measure correct as 
to most of those tribes. 

Their situation was such as would have worked confusion in the ideas 
of a less primitive and simple minded people. Jor years before the 
outbreak of the rebellion their superintendents, agents, and agency 
employés had been, almost without exception, Southern men or men of 
Southern sympathies. They were a slavehelding people, and the idea 
was constantly pressed upon them that the pending difficulties between 
the North and the South were solely the result of a determination on the 
part of the latter to protect her slave property from the aggressions 
and rapacity of the former. When at last hostilities commenced, they 
saw the magnitude of the preparation and the strength of the Confed- 
erate forces in their vicinity. The weakness of the Federal forces was 
equally striking. Within the scope of their limited horizon there was 
naught that seemed to shed a ray of hope upon the rapidly darkening 
sky of Federal supremacy. Those who were naturally inclined to sym- 
pathize with, and who retained a feeling of friendship and reverence for, 





u Gonniasonen of Indian Affairs to the Ppieside nt, Fane 15, 1866. 
2Tbid. 


ROYCE. ] TREATY OF AUGUST 6, 1846. 331 


the old Government were awed into silence. A sense of fear and help- 
lessness for the time being compelled them to accept and apparently 
acquiesce in a state of affairs for which many of them had no heart. 

After the Cherokee convention at Tahlequah, in August, 1861, at 
which it was decided with such unanimity to renounce their treaty rela- 
tions with the United States and to enter into diplomatic alliance with 
the Confederacy, O-poth-le-yo-ho-lo, an old and prominent Creek chief, 
whom Ross had notified by letter of the action taken, and upon whom 
he urged the wisdom of securing similar action by the Creeks,! refused 
to lend himself to any such measure. He called a council of the Creeks, 
however, representing to them the action of the Cherokees, alleging 
that their chiefs had been bought, and reminded the Creeks of the 
duties and obligations by which they were bound to the Government 
of the United States. 

The majority of the Creeks, notwithstanding, were for active co-opera- 
tion with the Confederacy, and an internecine war was at once inaugur- 
ated. The loyal portion of the Seminoles, Wichitas, Kickapoos, and Dela- 
wares joined O-poth-le-yo-ho-lo and his loyal Creeks, who after two or 
three engagements with the disloyal Indians, backed by a force of Texas 
troops, was compelled to retreat to the north, which he did in Decem- 
ber, 1861.2. The weather was extremely inclement; the loyal Indians 
were burdened with all their household goods, their women and chil- 
dren, and at the same time exposed to the assaults of their enemies. 
Their baggage was captured, leaving many of them without shoes 
or comfortable clothing. Hundreds perished on the route, and at last, 
after a journey of 300 miles, they reached Humboldt, Kansas, racked 
with disease, almost frozen, and with starvation staring them in the 
face. Immediately upon learning of the condition of these sufferers, 
Indian Superintendent Coffin promptly inaugurated measures for their 
relief. Having inconsiderable funds at his command for the purpose, 
application was made to General Hunter, commanding the Depart- 
ment of Kansas, who promptly responded with all the supplies at 
his disposal. The Indians in their retreat had become scattered over 
an area of territory 200 miles in extent, between the Verdigris and Fall 
River, Walnut Creek and the Arkansas. <As they became aware of the 
efforts of the Government for their relief, they began to pour into the 
camp of rendezvous on the Verdigris, but were later removed to Le 
Roy, Kansas. Authority was given to enlist the able bodied males in 
the service of the United States, and two regiments were at once organ- 
ized and placed under command of Colonel Weir for an expedition 
against the Indian Territory, mention of which has been previously 
made. A census taken of these refugees by Superintendent Coftin, 





‘Letter of John Ross to O-poth-le-yo-ho-lo, September 19, 1861. 
> Report of Agent Cutler and Superintendent Coffin for 1862. See pages 135 and 
138 of the Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs for 1862. 


332 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


in August, 1862, showed that there were in camp, exclusive of the 2,000 
who had enlisted in the service of the United States, 3,619 Creeks, 919 
Seminoles, 165 Chickasaws, 223 Cherokees, 400 Kickapoos, 89 Delawares; 
19 Ionies, and 53 Keechies, in all 5,487, consisting of 864 men, 2,040 
women, and 2,583 children. In addition to these at least 15 per cent. 
had died since their arrival from hardships encountered in the course 
of their retreat. They were subsequently removed to the Sac and Fox 
reservation in Kansas. 

Until after Colonel Weir’s expedition to the Indian Territory not ex- 
ceeding three hundred Cherokees had taken refuge within the Union 
lines; butin theautumn of 1862, after Weir’s retreat, a body of refugees, 
mostly women and children, claiming the protection of the United States, 
made their way to a point on the Cherokee neutral lands some 12 miles 
south of Fort Scott, Kansas. 

Like all the other refugees, they were in a most destitute and suffer- 
ing condition. In need of food, clothing, and supplies of all kinds, these 
sufferers, to the number of two thousand, appealed for relief, and were 
for a time supplied by the Superintendent of Indian Affairs, but after- 
wards, on being taken under charge of the military authorities, were 
transferred to Neosho, Missouri. 

Relations with the Southern Confederacy renounced.—During the month 
of February, 1863 (as reported! by John Ross from Philadelphia), a 
special meeting of the Cherokee national council was convened at Cow- 
skin Prairie, and the following legislation was enacted : 

1. Abrogating the treaty with the Confederate States, and calling 
a general convention of the people to approve the act. 

2. The appointment of a delegation with suitable powers and instrue- 
tions to represent the Cherokee Nation before the United States Gov- 
ernment, consisting of John Ross, principal chief, Lieutenant-Colonel 
Downing, Capt. James McDaniel, and Rey. Evan Jones. 

3. Authorizing a general Indian council to be held at such time and 
place as the principal chief may designate. 

4, Deposing all officers of the nation disloyal to the Government. 

5. Approving the purchase of supplies made by the treasurer and 
directing their distribution. 

6, Providing for the abolition of slavery in the Cherokee Nation. 


RAVAGES OF WAR IN THE CHEROKEE NATION. 


In the latter part of the winter of 1862 and early spring of 1865 the mili- 
tary authorities conceived the propriety of returning the refugee Chero- 
kees to their homes in time to enable them to plant their spring crops. 
Two military expeditions were organized, one to move from Springfield, 
Mo., under the command of General Blunt, and the other from Scott’s 





1 April 2, 1863. 


ROYCE. J TREATY OF AUGUST 6, 1846. 333 


Mills, in charge of Colonel Phillips.!| The Indians were furnished with 
the necessary agricultural implements, seeds, etc., and were promised 
complete protection from the incursions of their enemies. The refugees, 
in charge of Indian Agent Harlan, set out for their homes a week after 
the army had marched, reaching Tahlequah in safety, and immediately 
scattering themselves throughout the country engaged busily in plant- 
ing their crops. Their labors had only fairly commenced when they 
were alarmed by the reported approach of Stand Watie and his regi- 
ment of Confederate Cherokees. The Indians immediately suspended 
their labors, and, together with the troops under Colonel Phillips, were 
compelled to take refuge in Fort Gibson. Their numbers were, as re- 
ported by the superintendent, now increased to upwards of six thousand, 
by the addition of many who, up to this time, had remained at their 
homes. The troops of Stand Watie, alleged to number some seven hun- 
dred, scoured the country at their pleasure, and not only everything of 
value that had previously escaped confiscation in the nation, but every- 
thing that had been brought back with them by the refugees to aid in 
their proposed labors, was either carried off or destroyed. The failure 
of these expeditions in accomplishing the objects for which they were 
organized rendered it necessary that the refugees should be fed and main- 
tained at Fort Gibson, some 200 miles distant from the base of supplies. 
This situation of affairs remained practically unchanged until the close 
of the war, except that the number of destitute Indians requiring subsis- 
tence from the Government increased to sixteen or seventeen thousand. 
The United States forces continued to occupy Forts Smith and Gibson, 
and the Indians were thus enabled to cultivate, to a limited extent, the 
lands within the immediate protection of those posts, but their country 
was infested and overrun by guerrillas, who preyed upon and destroyed 
everything of a destructible character. There was no portion of coun- 
try within the limits of the United States, perhaps, that was better 
suited to the demands of stock-raising, and the Cherokees had, prior to 
the war, entered largely into this pursuit. Many of them were wealthy 
and numbered their herds by hundreds and even thousands of head. 
Almost the entire nation was surrounded by all the comforts and many 
of the luxuries of a civilized people. When they were overwhelmed 
by the disasters of war, and saw the labors and accumulations of more 
than twenty years’ residence in that pleasant and fruitful country swept 
away in a few weeks, the sullen bitterness of despair settled down upon 
them. ‘Their losses in stock alone aggregated, according to the best 
estimates, more than 300,000 head. Is it any wonder that the springs 
of hope should dry up within their breasts ? 





' Report of Commissioner of Indian Affairs for 1863, p. 24. 


334 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


TREATY CONCLUDED JULY 19, 1866; PROCLAIMED AUGUST 11, 1866. 


Held at Washington, D. C., between Dennis N. Cooley, Commissioner of 
Indian Affairs, and Elijah Sells, superintendent of Indian Affairs for 
the southern superintendency, on behalf of the United States, and the Chero- 
kee Nation of Indians, represented by tts delegates, James McDaniel, 
Smith Christie, White Catcher, S. H. Benge, J. B. Jones, and Daniel 
H. Ross, John Ross, principal chief, being too unwell to join in these ne- 


gotiations.! 
MATERIAL PROVISIONS. 


Whereas existing treaties between the United States and the Chero- 
kee Nation are deemed to be insufficient, the contracting parties agree 
as follows, viz: 

1. The pretended treaty of October 7, 1861, with the so-called Con- 
federate States, repudiated by the Cherokee National Council February 
18, 1863, is declared to be void. 

2, Amnesty is declared for all offenses committed by one Cherokee 
against the person or property of another or against a citizen of the 
United States prior to July 4, 1866. No right of action arising out 
of acts committed for or against the rebellion shall be maintained in 
either the United States or the Cherokee courts, and the Cherokee Na- 
tion agree to deliver to the United States all public property in their 
control which belonged to the United States or the so-called Confeder- 
ate States. 

3. The confiscation laws of the Cherokee Nation shall be repealed, 
and all sales of farms and improvements are declared void. The former 
owners shall have the right to repossess themselves of the property so 
sold. The purchaser under the confiscation laws shall receive from the 
treasurer of the nation the money paid and the value of the permanent 
improvements made by him. The value of these improvements shall 
be fixed by a commission, composed of one person appointed by the 
United States and one appointed by the Cherokee Nation, who in case 
of disagreement may appoint a third. The value of these improvements 
so fixed shall be returned to the Cherokee treasurer by returning Cher- 
okees within three years. 

4, All Cherokees and freed persons who were formerly slaves to any 
Cherokee, and all free negroes, not having been such slaves, who resided 
in the Cherokee Nation prior to June 1, 1861, who may within two years 
elect not to reside northeast of the Arkansas River and southeast of 
Grand Riyer, shall have the right to settle in and occupy the Canadian 
district southwest of the Arkansas River; and also the country north- 
west of Grand River, and bounded southeast by Grand River and west 
by the Creek country, to the northeast corner thereof; from thence west 
on north line of Creek country to 96° west longitude ; thence north with 





‘United States Statutes at Large, Vol. XIV, p. 799. 


ROYCE. | TREATY OF JULY 19, 1866. 335 


said 96° so far that a line due east to Grand River will include a quan- 
tity of land equal to 160 acres for each person who may so elect to re- 
side therein, provided that the part of said district north of Arkansas 
River shall not be set apart until the Canadian district shall be found 
insufficient to allow 160 acres to each person desiring to settle un’er 
the terms of this article. 

5. The inhabitants electing to reside in the district described in the 
preceding article shall have the right to elect all their local officers and 
judges, also their proportionate share of delegates in any general coun- 
cil that may be established under the twelfth article of this treaty; to 
control all their local affairs in a manner not inconsistent with the con- 
stitution of the Cherokee Nation or the laws of the United States, pro- 
vided the Cherokees residing in said district shall enjoy all the rights 
and privileges of other Cherokees who may elect to settle in said dis- 
trict as herein before provided, and shall hold the same rights and priv- 
ileges and be subject to the same liabilities as those who elect to settle 
in said district under the provisions of this treaty ; provided, also, that 
if any rules be adopted which, in the opinion of the President, bear op- 
pressively on any citizen of the nation he may suspend the same. And 
all rules or regulations discriminating against the citizens of other dis- 
tricts are prohibited and shall be void. 

6. The inhabitants of the aforesaid district shall be entitled to repre- 
sentation in the national council in proportion to their numbers. All 
laws shall be uniform throughout the nation. The President of the 
United States is empowered to correct any evil arising from the unjust 
or unequal operation of any Cherokee law and to secure an equitable 
expenditure of the national funds. 

7. A United States court shall be created in the Indian Territory; un- 
til created, the United States district court nearest the Cherokee Nation 
shall have exclusive original jurisdiction of all causes, civil and crim- 
inal, between the inhabitants of the aforesaid district and other citizens 
of the Cherokee Nation. All process issued in said district against a 
Cherokee outside of said district shall be void unless indorsed by the 
judge of the district in which the process is to be served. A like rule 
shall govern the service of process issued by Cherokee officers against 
persons residing in the aforesaid district. Persons so arrested shall be 
held in custody until delivered to the United States marshal or until 
they shall consent to be tried by the Cherokee court. All provisions of 
this treaty creating distinctions between citizens of any district and the 
remainder of the Cherokee Nation shall be abrogated by the President 
whenever a majority of the voters of such district shall so declare at 
an election duly ordered by him. No future law or regulation enacted 
in the Cherokee Nation shall take effect until ninety days after pro- 
mulgation in the newspapers or by written posted notices in both the 
English and Cherokee languages. 

5. No license to tvade in the Cherokee Nation shall be granted by the 


33 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 
United States unless approved by the Cherokee national council, except 
in the districts mentioned in article 4. 

9, The Cherokee Nation covenant and agree that slavery shall never 
hereafter exist in the nation. All freedmen, as well as all free colored 
persons resident in the nation at the outbreak of the rebellion and now 
resident therein or who shall return within six months and their de- 
scendants, shall have all the rights of native Cherokees. Owners of 
emancipated slaves shall never receive any compensation therefor. 

10. All Cherokees shall have the right to sell their farm produce, live 
stock, merchandise, or manufactures, and to ship and drive the same to 
market without restraint, subject to any tax now or hereafter levied by 
the United States on the quantity sold outside of the Indian Territory. 

11. The Cherokee Nation grant a right of way 200 feet in width 
through their country to any company authorized by Congress to con- 
struct a railroad from north to south and from east to west through the 
Cherokee Nation. The officers, employés, and. laborers of such com- 
pany shall be protected in the discharge of their duties while building 
or operating said road through the nation and at all times shall be 
subject to the Indian intercourse laws. 

12. The Cherokees agree to the organization of a general council, to 
be composed of delegates elected to represent all the tribes in the ° 
Indian Territory, and to be organized as follows: 

I. A census shall be taken of each tribe in the Indian Territory. 

II. The first general council shall consist of one member for each 
tribe, and an additional member for each one thousand population or 
fraction thereof over five hundred. Any tribe failing to elect such 
members of council shall be represented by its chief or chiefs and head- 
men in the above proportion. The council shall meet at such time and 
place as the Superintendent of Indian Affairs shall approve. No session 
shall exceed thirty days in any one year. The sessions shall be annual ; 
special sessions may be called by the Secretary of the Interior in his 
discretion. 

IlI. The council shall have power to legislate upon matters pertain- 
ing to intercourse and relations of the tribes and freedinen resident in 
Indian Territory ; the arrest and extradition of criminals and offenders 
escaping from one tribe or community to another; the administration 
of justice between members of different tribes and persons other than 
Indians and members of said tribes or nations; and the common defense 
and safety. All laws enacted by the council shall take effect as therein 
provided, unless suspended by the President of the United States. 
No law shall be enacted inconsistent with the Constitution or laws of 
the United States or with existing treaty stipulations. The council 
shall not legislate upon matters other than above indicated, unless 
jurisdiction shall be enlarged by consent of the national council of each 
nation or tribe, with the assent of the President of the United States. 


ROYCE.] TREATY OF JULY 19, 1866. 337 


IVY. Said council shall be presided over by such person as may be 
designated by the Secretary of the Interior. 

V. The council shall elect a secretary, who shall receive from the 
United States an annual salary of $500. He shall transmit a certified 
copy of the council proceedings to the Secretary of the Interior and to 
each tribe or nation in the council. 

VI. Members of the council shall be paid by the United States $4 a 
day during actual attendance on its meetings and $4 for every 20 miles 
of necessary travel in going to and returning therefrom. 

13. The United States may establish a court or courts in the Indian 
Territory, with such organization and jurisdiction as may be estab- 
lished by law, provided that the judicial tribunals of the Cherokee 
Nation shall retain exclusive jurisdiction in all civil and criminal cases 
arising within their country in which members of the nation shall be 
the only parties, or where the cause of action shall arise in the Cherokee 
Nation, except as otherwise provided in this treaty. 

14. Every society or denomination erecting or desiring to erect build- 
ings for missionary or educational purposes shall be entitled to select 
and occupy for those purposes 160 acres of vacant land in one body. 

15. The United States may settle any civilized Indians, friendly with 
the Cherokees, within the latter’s country on unoccupied lands east of 
96°, on terms agreed upon between such Indians and the Cherokees, 
subject to the approval of the President of the United States. If any 
tribe so settling shall abandon its tribal organization and pay into the 
Cherokee national fund asum bearing the same proportion to such fund 
as said tribe shall in numbers bear to the population of the Cherokee 
Nation suelr tribe shall be incorporated into and ever after remain a 
part of that nation on equal terms with native citizens thereof. 

If any tribe so settling shall decide to preserve its tribal organization, 
laws, customs, and usages not inconsistent with the constitution and 
laws of the Cherokee Nation, it shall have set apart in compact form 
for use and occupancy a tract equal to 160 acres for each member of 
the tribe. Such tribe shall pay for this land a price agreed upon with 
the Cherokees, subject to the approval of the President of the United 
States, and in case of disagreement the price to be fixed by the Presi- 
dent. 

Such tribe shall also pay into the national fund a sum to be agreed 
upon by the respective parties, not greater in proportion to the whole 
existing national fund and the probable proceeds of the lands herein 
ceded or authorized to be ceded or sold than their numbers bear to the 
whole number of Cherokees, and thereafter they shall enjoy all the 
rights of native Cherokees. 

No Indians without tribal organization, or who having one shall have 
determined to abandon the same, shall be permitted to settle in the 
Cherokee country east of 96° without the permission of the proper 
Cherokee authorities. And no Indians determining to preserve their 

5 ETH 22, 





338 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


tribal organization shall so settie without such consent, unless the 
President, after a full hearing of the Cherokee objections thereto, shall 
deem them insufficient and authorize such settlement. 

16, The United States may settle friendly Indians on any Cherokee 
lands west of 96°; such lands to be selected in compact form and to 
equal in quantity 160 acres for each member of the tribe so settled. 
Such tribe shall pay therefor a price to be agreed upon with the Chero- 
kees, or, in the event of failure to agree, the price to be fixed by the 
President. The tract purchased shall be conveyed in fee simple to the 
tribe so purchasing, to be held in common or allotted in severalty as the 
United States may decide. 

The right of possession and jurisdiction over the Cherokee country 
west of 96° to abide with the Cherokees until thus sold and oceupied. 

17. The Cherokee Nation cedes to the United States, in trust to be 
surveyed, appraised, and sold for the benefit of that nation, the tract of 
800,000 acres sold to them by the United States by article 2, treaty of 
1835, and the strip of land ceded to the nation by article 4, treaty of 
1835, lying within the State of Kansas, and consents that said lands 
may be included in the limits and jurisdiction of said State. The ap- 
praisement shall not average less than $1.25 per acre, exclusive of im- 
provements. 

The Secretary of the Interior shall, after due advertisement for sealed 
bids, sell such lands to the highest bidders for cash in tracts of not 
exceeding 160 acres each at not less than the appraised value. Settlers 
having improvements to the value of $50 or more on any of the lands 
not mineral and occupied for agricultural purposes at the date of the 
signing of this treaty, shall, after due proof under rules to be prescribed 
by the Secretary of the Interior, be allowed to purchase at the appraised 
value the smallest quantity of land to inelude their improvements, not 
exceeding 160 acres each. 

The expenses of survey and appraisement shall be paid out of the 
proceeds of the sale of the lands, and nothing herein shall prevent the 
Secretary of the Interior from selling to any responsible party for cash 
all of the unoccupied portion of these lands in a body, for not less than 
$800,000. 

18. Any lands owned by the Cherokees in Arkansas or in States east 
of the Mississippi River may be sold by their national council, upon 
the approval of the Secretary of the Interior. 

19. All Cherokees residing on the ceded lands desiring to remove to 
the Cherokee country proper shall be paid by the purchasers the ap- 
praised value of their improvements. Such Cherokees desiring to re- 
main on the lands so occupied by them shall be entitled to a patent in 
fee simple for 320 acres each, to include their improvements, and shall 
thereupon cease to be members of the nation. 

20. Whenever the Cherokee national council shall so request, the 
Secretary of the Interior shall cause the country reserved for the 


ROYCE. ] TREATY OF JULY 19, 1966 339 


Cherokees to be surveyed and allotted among them at the expense of 
the United States. 

21. The United States shall at its own expense cause to be run and 
marked the boundary line between the Cherokee Nation and the States 
of Arkansas, Missouri, and Kansas as far west as the Arkansas River, 
by two commissioners, one of whom shall be designated by the Chero- 
kee national council. 

2°, The Cherokee national council shall have the privilege of appoint- 
ing an agent to examine the accounts of the nation with the United 
States, who shall have free access to all the accounts and books in the 
Executive Departments relating to the business of the Cherokees. 

23. All funds due the nation or accruing from the sale of their lands 
shall be invested in United States registered stocks and the interest 
paid semi-annually on the order of the Cherokee Nation, and applied 
to the following purposes: 55 per cent. for the support of the common 
schools of the nation and educational purposes; 15 per cent. for the 
orphan fund, and 50 per cent. for general purposes, including salaries of 
district officers. The Secretary of the Interior, with the approval of the 
President, may pay out of the funds due the nation, on the order of the 
national council, an amount necessary to meet outstanding obligations 
of the Cherokee Nation, not exceeding $150,000. 

24. Three thousand dollars shall be paid out of the Cherokee funds 
to the Rey. Evan Jones, now in poverty and crippled, as a reward for 
forty years’ faithful missionary labors in the nation. 

25. All bounty and pay of deceased Cherokee soldiers remaining un- 
claimed at the expiration of two years shall be paid as the national 
council may direct, to be applied to the foundation and support of an 
orphan asylum. 

26. The United States guarantee to the Cherokees the quiet and 
peaceable possession of their country and protection against domestic 
feuds and insurrection as well as hostilities of other tribes. They shall 
also be protected from intrusion by all unauthorized citizens of the 
United States attempting to settle on their lands or reside in their ter- 
ritory. Damages resulting from hostilities among the Indian tribes 
shall be charged to the tribe beginning the same. 

27. The United States shall have the right to establish one or more 
military posts in the Cherokee Nation. Nosutler or other person, except 
the medical department proper, shall have the right to introduce spirit- 
uous, vinous, or malt liquors into the country, and then only for strictly 
medical purposes. All unauthorized persons are prohibited from coming 
into or remaining in the Chereckee Nation, and it is the duty of the 
United States agent to have such persons removed as required by the 
Indian intercourse laws of the United States. 

28. The United States agree to pay for provisions and clothing fur- 
nished the army of Appotholehala in the winter of 1861 and 1862 a sum 
not exceeding $10,000. 


340 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


29, The United States agree to pay out of the proceeds of sale of 
Cherokee lands $10,000, or so much thereofas may be necessary, to defray 
the expenses of the Cherokee delegates and representatives invited to 
Washington by the United States to conclude this treaty, and also to 
pay the reasonable costs and expenses of the delegates of the Southern 
Cherokees. 

30. The United States agree to pay not exceeding $20,000 to cover 
losses sustained by missionaries or missionary societies, in being driven 
from the Cherokee country by United States agents and on account 
of property taken and destroyed by United States troops. 

31. All provisions of former treaties not inconsistent with this treaty 
shall continue in force; and nothing herein shall be construed as an 
acknowledgment by the United States or as a relinquishment by the 
Cherokee Nation of any claims or demands under the guarantees of 
former treaties, except as herein expressly provided. 


TREATY CONCLUDED APRIL 27, 1868; PROCLAIMED JUNE to, 1868.! 


Held at Washington, D. C., between Nathaniel G. Taylor, commissioner 
on the part of the United States, and the duly authorized delegates of the 


Cherokee Nation. 
MATERIAL PROVISIONS. 


This treaty is concluded as a supplemental article to the treaty of 
July 19, 1866. ; 

After reciting that a contract was entered into August 30, 1866, 
for the sale of the Cherokee neutral land, between James Harlan, Sec- 
retary of the Interior, and the American Emigrant Company; that 
such contract had been annulled as illegal by O. H. Browning, as Sec- 
retary of the Interior, who in turn entered into a contract of sale 
October 9, 1867, with James F. Joy, for the same lands, it is agreed by 
this treaty, in order to prevent litigation and to harmonize conflicting 
interests, as follows, viz: An assignment of the contract of August 
30, 1866, with the American Emigrant Company shall be made to James 
F. Joy. Said contract as hereinafter modified is reaffirmed and de- 
clared valid. The contract with James F. Joy of October 9, 1867, shall 
be relinquished and canceled by said Joy or his attorney. The said 
first contract, as hereinafter modified, and the assignment thereof, to- 
gether with the relinquishment of the second contract, are hereby rati- 
fied and confirmed whenever such assignment and relinquishment shall 
be entered of record in the Department of the Interior, and when said 
Joy shall have accepted such assignment and entered into contract to 
perform all the obligations of the American Emigrant Company under 
said first contract as hereinafter modified. 

The modifications of said contract are declared to be: 

1. Within ten days from the ratification of this treaty, $75,000 shall 





i United States Statutes at Large, Vol. XVI, p. 727. 


ROYCE. ] TREATY OF APRIL 27, 1868. 341 


be paid to the Secretary of the Interior, as trustee for the Cherokee 
Nation. 

2. The other deferred payments shall be paid when they fall due, 
with interest only from the ratification hereof. 

It is distinctly understood that said Joy shall take only the residue 
of said lands after securing to “actual settlers” the lands to which 
they are entitled under the amended seventeenth article of the treaty of 
July 19, 1866. The proceeds of the sales of such lands so occupied by 
settlers shall inure to the benefit of the Cherokee Nation. 


HISTORICAL DATA, 
UNITED STATES DESIRE TO REMOVE INDIANS FROM KANSAS TO INDIAN TERRITORY. 


It had for several years been the hope of the Government that so soon 
as the war was ended arrangements could be perfected whereby conces- 
sions of territory could be obtained from the principal Southern tribes. 
To territory thus acquired it was proposed, after obtaining their consent, 
to remove the several tribes possessing reservations in Kansas, or at 
least such of them as were not prepared or willing to dissolve their 
tribal relations and become citizens of the United States. The fertile 
and agreeable prairies of that State were being rapidly absorbed by an 
ever increasing stream of immigration, which gave promise as soon as 
the war should close and the armies be disbanded of an indefinite in- 
crease. The numerous Indian reservations dotting the face of the 
State in all directions afforded most desirable farming and grazing lands 
that would soon be needed for this rapidly multiplying white population. 


COUNCIL OF SOUTHERN TRIBES AT CAMP NAPOLEON. 


It was, therefore, with much gratification that the Secretary of the 
Interior learned during the month of June, 1865,' of the holding of a 
council at Camp Napoleon, Chattatomha, on the 24th of May preceding, 
which was attended by representatives of all the southern and south- 
western tribes, as well as by the Osages. At this council delegates 
representing each tribe had been appointed to visit Washington, author- 
ized to enter into treaty negotiations. Before these delegations were 
ready to start, however, it had been determined by the President to 
appoint special commissioners, who should proceed to the Indian coun- 
try and meet them at Fort Smith. 


GENERAL COUNCIL AT FORT SMITH. 


This commission as constituted consisted of D. N. Cooley, Com- 
missioner of Indian Affairs; Elijah Sells, superintendent of Indian 
affairs; Thomas Wistar, a leading Quaker; General W. 8S. Harney, of 
the United States Army; and Col. E. S. Parker, of General Grant’s 


iLetter of General J. J. Reynolds to Secretary of the Interior, June 28, 1865; 
printed in report of Commissioner of Indian Affairs for 1865, p. 299. 





342 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


staff.'. Proceeding to Fort Smith, the council was convened on the 
8th day of September, and was attended by delegates representing the 
Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws, Cherokees, Seminoles, Osages, Senecas, 
Shawnees, Quapaws, Wyandots, Wichitas, and Comanches. In opening 
the council the Indians were informed that the commissioners had been 
sent to ascertain their disposition and feeling toward the United States; 
that most of them had violated their treaty obligations to the Govern- 
ment and, by entering into diplomatic relations with the so-called Con- 
federate States, had forfeited all right to the protection of the United 
States and subjected their property to the penalty of confiscation. 

They were assured, however, that the Government had no disposition 
to deal harshly with them. On the contrary, it was desirous of under- 
taking such measures as would conduce to their happiness, and was 
especially determined to grant handsome recognition to those of them 
whose loyalty had been so firmly and consistently manifested in the face 
of the most cruelly adverse conditions. The council continued in ses- 
sion for thirteen days. On the second day the Indians were informed 
that the commissioners were empowered to enter into treaties with the 
several tribes upon the basis of the following propositions : 

1. That opposing factions of each tribe must enter into a treaty for 
permanent peace and amity among themselves: also between each other 
as tribes, and with the United States. 

2. The tribes settled in the “Indian country” should bind themselves 
at the call of the United States authorities to assist in compelling the 
wild tribes of the plains to keep the peace. 

3. Slavery should be abolished and measures should be taken to incor- 
porate the slaves into the several tribes, with their rights guaranteed. 

4. A general stipulation as to the final abolition of slavery. 

5. A part of the Indian country should be set apart to be purchased 
for the use of such Indians from Kansas or elsewhere as the Goyern- 
ment should desire to colonize therein. 

6. That the policy of the Government to unite all the Indian tribes 
of this region into one consolidated government should be accepted. 

7. That no white persons, except Government employés or officers or 
employés of internal improvement companies authorized by Govern- 
ment, should be permitted to reside in the country unless incorporated 
with the several nations. 

Reasons for Cherokee disloyalty.—The subsequent sessions of the coun- 
cil were largely taken up in the discussion of these propositions by the 
representatives of the various tribes. It is only with the conduct of 
the Cherokees, however, that the present listory is concerned. The 
address of the representatives of the “loyal” portion of this tribe is 
especially noteworthy in this, that they charged the cause of their alli- 
ance with the rebel authorities upon the United States, by reason of the 


' Report of D. N. Cooley, president of the commission, dated October 80, 1°65. 





Royer] TREATY OF APRIL 27, 1868. 343 


latter having violated its treaty obligations in failing to give them pro- 
tection, whereby they were compelled to enter into treaty relations with 
the Confederacy. This statement the president of the commission took 
oceasion to traverse, and to assure them of the existence of abundant 
evidence that their alliance with the Confederacy was voluntary and 
unnecessary. 

Before the close of the council it was ascertained that no final and 
definite treaties could be made with the tribes represented, for the rea- 
son that until the differences between the loyal and disloyal portions 
could be healed no truly representative delegations of both factions 
could be assembled in council. Preliminary articles of peace and amity 
with the different factions of each tribe were prepared and signed as a 
basis for future negotiations. 

Factional hostility among the Cherokees.—The only tribe with whom 
the commissioners were unsuccessful in re-establishing friendly relations 
between these factions was the Cherokees.! 

The ancient feuds between the Ross and Ridge parties were still 
remembered. Many of the latter who had remained under Stand 
Watie in the service of the Confederacy until the close of the war were 
yet debarred from returning to their old homes, and were living in great 
destitution on the banks of the Red River.2) When the Ross party 
had returned to their allegiance, in 1863, their national council had 
passed an act of confiscation? against the Watie faction, which had been 
enforced with the utmost rigor, so that some five or six thousand mem- 
bers of the tribe had been rendered houseless, homeless, aud vagabonds 
upon the face of the earth. All prospect of securing a reconciliation 
between these parties was for the time being abandoned by the com- 
missioners, and the proposition was seriously considered of securing a 
home for Watie and his followers among the Choctaws or Chickasaws.$ 

John Ross not recognized as principal chief— On the day* on which the 
draft of the proposed preliminary treaty was presented to the council 
by the commissioners John Ross arrived in the camp of the Cherokees. 
It had already been determined by the commissioners among themselves 
that his record had been such as to preclude his recognition by them as 
principal chief of that nation, and it was believed that his influence was 
being used to prevent the loyal Cherokees from coming to any amicable 
arrangement with their Southern brethren. 

The chairman therefore read to the council® a paper signed by the 
several commissioners, reciting the machinations and deceptions of 
John Ross. It was alleged that he did not represent the will and wishes 
of the loyal Cherokees, and was not the choice of any considerable por- 





1 Report of D. N. Cooley, president of the commission, dated October 30, 1865. 
2 Report of Commissioner of Indian Affairs for 1865, p. 36. 

* Report of Elijah Sells, superintendent of Indian Affairs, October 16, 1865. 
4September 13, 1865. 

* September 15, 1865. 


344 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


tion of the nation for the office claimed by him, an office which by the 
Cherokee law the commissioners believed he did not in fact hold. They 
therefore refused, as commissioners representing the interests of the 
United States, to recognize Ross in any manner as the chief of the 
Cherokee Nation. 

Loyal Cherokees will sign treaty conditionally.—At the same sitting of 
the council, Colonel Reese, of the loyal Cherokee delegation, declared 
that they were willing to sign the proposed treaty, but in so doing 
would not acknowledge that they had forfeited their rights and _ privi- 
leges to annuities and lands as set forth in the preamble, but that their 
signatures must be made under the following statement, viz: ‘“‘ We, the 
loyal delegation, acknowledge the execution of the treaty of October 7, 
1861, but we solemnly declare that the execution was procured by the 
coercion of the rebel army.” 

Southern Cherokees will sign treaty conditionally—On the following 
day | the credentials of the Southern Cherokees were presented by E. 
©. Boudinot, accompanied by the statement that they cordially acceded 
to the Ist, 2d, 4th, 5th, and 7th propositions of the commissioners with- 
out qualification; that they accepted the abolition of slavery as an ac- 
complished fact, and were willing to give such fact legal significance 
by appropriate acts of council. They insisted, however, that it would 
neither be for the benefit of the emancipated negro nor for that of the 
Indian to incorporate the former into the tribe on an equal footing with 
its original members. They were also opposed to the policy of consoli- 
dating all the tribes in the Indian Territory under one government, 
because of the many incongruous and irreconcilable elements which no 
power could bring into a semblance ef assimilation.? 

Southern Cherokees want a division of territory—They had already 
proffered and were willing again to proffer the olive-branch of peace and 
reconciliation to their brethren of the so called loyal portion of the nation, 
but respectfully urged that after all the blood that had been shed and 
the intense bitterness that seemed to fill the bosoms of their brethren 
they ought not to be expected to live in an undivided country. They 
wished peace, and they believed they could have it in no other way than 
by an equitable division of the Cherokee country in such manner as 
should seem most appropriate to the United States. 

Statement by John Ross.—The delegation of loyal Cherokees at the 
next session of the council® presented their exceptions to the action of 
the commissioners in declining to recognize John Ross and that gentle- 
man was permitted to make a statement in his own behalf. The con- 
stantly accumulating evidence against him was such, however, as to 
more fully confirm the commissioners in the propriety of their previous 
action. 


1 September 16, 1865. 

? This objection to consolidation was afterwards withdrawn, and, based upon fuller 
information of the proposed plan, was most fully concurred in, 

8 September 18, 1865. 


Koycr.) TREATY OF APRIL 27, 1868. 345 


On the 21st of September the council adjourned, to meet again at the 
call of the Seeretary of the Interior. 


CONFERENCE AT WASHINGTON, D. C. 


Early in 1866, in accordance with the understanding had at the ad- 
journment of the Fort Smith council, delegations representing both 
factions of the Cherokees proceeded to Washington for the purpose of 
concluding some definite articles of agreement with the United States. 
They were represented by eminent counsel in the persons of General 
Thomas Ewing for the loyal and Hon. D. W. Voorhees for the Southern 
element. Many joint interviews and discussions were held in the pres- 
ence of Commissioners Cooley, Parker, and Sells, but without any hope- 
ful results. The bitterness exhibited in these discussions upon both 
sides gave but little promise that enmities of more than twenty years’ 
standing could be subordinated to the demands of a peaceful and har- 
monious government. The Southern element, which numbered about 
sixty-five hundred, constituted but a minority of the whole nation. 
These, with the exception of perhaps two hundred, were still living in 
banishment among the Choctaws and Chickasaws, and felt it would be 
unsafe to return to their old homes with the Ross party in full pos- 
session of the machinery of government and ready to apply with sever- 
est rigor the enginery of their confiscation law. Their representatives 
were therefore instructed to demand, as the only hope for their future 
peace and happiness, a division of the Cherokee lands and funds in pro- 
portion to their numbers between the two contending parties.’ On the 
other hand, the representatives of the Ross or loyal party insisted that 
there was no good reason existing why the Southern element should be 
unable to dwell harmoniously with them in the same country and under 
the same laws, which they asserted always had been and always would 
be impartially and justly administered, so far as they were concerned. 

A just feeling of national pride would always forbid their consent 
to any scheme against the integrity and unity of the whole Cherokee 
Nation. But, while they were thus on principle compelled to antago- 
nize the demand of the Southern faction, yet if that element felt the 
impossibility of living comfortably in the midst of their loyal breth- 
ren the latter were willing that the portion of their national domain 
known as the Canadian district should be devoted to their sole occupa- 
tion and settlement for a period of two years or until the President of 
the United States should deem it inadvisable to longer continue such 
exclusiveness.2. To this again the Southern Cherokees refused assent, 





1 Statement of Southern delegation at an interview held with Commissioners Cooley 
and Sells, March 30, 1866. They also proposed that a census be taken and each man 
be allowed to decide whether or not he would live under the jurisdiction of the Ross 
party. 

2Statement of loyal delegation at interview held with Commissioners Cooley and 
Sells, March 30, 1866. 


346 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


because of the insufficient area of the Canadian district, and because 
they were unwilling to trust themselves under the jurisdiction of their 
enemies’ laws and courts. 

Factious conduct of both parties.—Kach faction was desirous of mak- 
ing a treaty with the Government, and each was fearful lest the United 
States should recognize the other as the proper party with which to 
conclude that treaty. he United States officials were convinced that 
the Ross party represented the rightfully constituted authorities of 
the nation, and their delegates were thus the only really authorized 
persons with whom a treaty could with strict propriety be made. But 
they were also convinced that it would be highly improper to conclude 
any treaty which should leave the Southern Cherokees in any degree 
subject to the malice and revengeful disposition of their enemies. It 
was the desire of the United States to secure from the Cherokees a 
cession of sufficient land upon which to colonize the Indian tribes then 
resident in Kansas. The Southern party therefore agreed to cede for 
that purpose all of the Cherokee domain west of 96° west longitude, 
and to sell the “neutral land” for the sum of $500,000, provided the 
Government would treat with them. The loyal party, however, re- 
fused to cede any territory for purposes of colonization east of 97° west 
longitude, and demanded $1,000,000 for the ‘‘neutral land,” at the same 
time assuming that the United States had no right or authority to en- 
tertain any proposition from any other source whatever involving the 
disposition of the domain or funds of the Cherokee Nation.! 

Interviews, consultations, and discussions followed each other in rapid 
succession, covering a period of several months, with no apparent ap- 
proach toward a final agreement. 

Treaty concluded with Southern Cherokees—At length the United 
States commissioners despairing of success with the loyal element, 
concluded a treaty with the Southern party.? 

Among other things, this treaty provided that a quantity of land 
equal to 160 acres for every nan, woman, and child, ineluding the freed- 
men belonging to the Southern party, and also for each North Caro- 
lina Cherokee who should, within one year, remove aad join them, 
should be set apart in that portion of their territory known as the Ca- 
nadian district, for their sole use and occupancy. In ease this district 
should afford an insufficient area of land, there sbould be added a fur- 
ther tract extending northward and lying between Grand River and 
the Creek boundary, and still further northward and westward between 
that river and the line of 95° 30/ west longitude, or a line as far west 
if necessary as 96° west longitude, until the necessary complement of 
land, based upon a census of their people, should be secured. It was 
further agreed that the Southern Cherokees should have exclusive 





‘Sundry interviews between Commissioners Cooley and Sells and the loyal and 
Southern delegations, from March to June, 1866. 
? June 13, 1865. 


ROYCE. ] TREATY OF APRIL 7, 1868. 347 


jurisdiction and control in the Canadian district, southwest of the Ar- 
kansas River, and of all that tract of country lying northeast of the 
Arkansas River and bounded on the east by Grand River, north by 
the line of 36° 30’ north latitude, and west by 96° of west longi- 
tude and the Creek reservation. In consideration of these things, the 
Southern Cherokees ceded absolutely to the United States all other 
Chérokee lands owned by them, at such price as should be agreed upon 
by the respective parties, whenever the Northern or loyal Cherokees 
should agree with the United States to sell the same. The sale of the 
“neutral land” was provided for at a sum per acre to be fixed by the 
President, which should amount in the aggregate to not less than 
$500,000. In all future negotiations with the United States, as in the 
past, but one Cherokee Nation should be recognized, but each of the 
two parties or divisions should be represented by delegates in propor- 
tion to their respective numbers. All moneys due the nation should 
be divided between the parties in the same proportion, and whenever 
the state of feeling throughout the nation should become such as by 
their own desire to render a complete and harmonious reunion of the 
two factions practicable, the United States would consent to the ac- 
complishment of such a measure. 

This treaty was duly signed, witnessed, and transmitted through the 
Secretary of the Interior to the President for submission to the Senate 
of the United States. The President retained it for more than a month, 
when, upon the conclusion of a treaty under date of July 19, 1866,' with 
the loyal Cherokees, he returned the former to the commissioners at 
the time he transmitted the latter instrument to the Senate for the 
advice and consent of that body to its ratification. 

Treaty concluded with loyal Cherokees.—The treaty of July 19, though 
not filling the full measure of desire on the part of the United States, 
and though not thoroughly satisfactory in its terms to either of the 
discordant Cherokee elements, was the best compromise that could 
be effected under the citcumstances, and was ratified and proclaimed 
August 11,1866. It is unnecessary to recite its provisions here, as a full 
abstract of them has been given in the preceding pages. Nine days 
prior to its conclusion the Secretary of the Interior addressed a com- 
munication to Commissioner Cooley, who was president of the board of 
treaty commissioners, reminding him of their action the preceding fall 
at Fort Smith in suspending John Ross from his functions as principal 
chief, suggesting that the reasons rendering that action necessary at 
the time no longer existed, and giving his consent, in case the commis- 
sioners should feel so inclined, to the immediate recognition of Ross in 
that capacity. 

Death of John Ross.—The old man was at this time unable, by reason 
of illness, to participate in the deliberations coucerning the new treaty,’ 





! United States Statutes at Large, Vol. XIV, p. 799. 
2See preamble to treaty of July 19,1855. 





348 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


and within a few days thereafter he died. He was in many respects a 
remarkableman. Though of Scotch-Indian parentage he was the cham- 
pion of the full-blood as against the mixed-blood members of the nation, 
and for nearly half a century had been a prominent figure in all the im- 
portant affairs of the Cherokee Nation. Notwithstanding his many op- 
portunities for immense gains he seems to have died a poor man and 
his family were left without the necessaries of life. His sixty slaves, 
and everything he possessed in the way of houses, stock, and other like 
property, were swept away during the war.! 


CESSION AND SALE OF CHEROKEE STRIP AND NEUTRAL LANDS, 


The seventeenth article of the treaty of July 19, 1866, ceded to the 
United States, in trust to be disposed of for the benefit of the Chero- 
kees, both the tract known as the ‘neutral land,” previously alluded 
to, and that known as the “ Cherokee strip.” The latter was a narrow 
strip, extending from the Neosho River west to the western limit of the 
Cherokee lands. The Cherokee domain, as described in the treaty of 
1855, extended northward to the south line of the Osage lands. When 
the State of Kansas was admitted to the Union its south boundary was 
made coincident with the thirty-seventh degree of north latitude, which 
was found to run a short distance to the southward of the southern 
Osage boundary, thus leaving the narrow ‘“ strip” of Cherokee lands 
within the boundaries of that State. 

The proviso of the seventeenth article just mentioned required that 
the lands therein ceded should be surveyed, after the manner of survey- 
ing the publie lands of the United States, and should be appraised by 
two commissioners, one of whom should be appointed by the United 
States and the other by the Cherokee Nation, such appraisement not to 
average less than $1.25 per acre. After such appraisement, the lands 
were to be sold under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior on 
sealed bids, in tracts of not exceeding 160 acres each, for cash, with the 
proviso that nothing should forbid the sale, if deemed for the best inter- 
ests of the Indians, of the entire tract of ‘neutral land” (except the por- 





' John Ross, or Kooeskoowe, was of mixed Scotch and Indian blood on both father’s 
and mother’s side. His maternal grandfather was John Stuart, who for many years 
prior to the Revolutionary war was British superintendent of Indian affairs for the 
southern tribes and who married a Cherokee woman. He was born about 1790 in 
that portion of the Cherokee Nation within the present limits of Georgia, and died in 
Washington, D. v., August 1,1866. As early as 1813 Ross made a trip to the Cherokee 
country west of the Mississippi, ascending the Arkansas River to the present limits 
of Indian Territory, and wrote a detailed account of the situation and prospects of 
his brethren, the character cf the country, ete. In 1820 (and perhaps earlier) he had 
become president of the Cherokee national committee, and continued so until the 
adoption of a constitution by the Cherokee Nation, July 26,1827. Of this constitu- 
tional convention Mr. Ross was the president, and under its operation he was elected 
principal chief, a position which he continued to hold until his death. 


ROYCE. J TREATY OF APRIL 27, 1868. 349 


tion occupied by actual settlers) in one body to any responsible party for 
cash for a sum not less than $800,000. An exception was made as to 
the lands which were occupied by bona fide white settlers at the date 
of the signing of the treaty, who were allowed the privilege of purchas- 
ing at the appraised value, exclusive of their improvements, in quanti- 
ties of not exceeding 160 acres each, to include such improvements. 

The language of this seventeenth article being somewhat obscure and 
subject to different interpretations as to the actual intent concerning 
the method of disposing of the ‘‘ Cherokee strip,” no action was taken 
toward its survey and sale until the year 1872, when by an act of Con- 
gress! provision was made for the appraisal of that portion of it lying 
east of Arkansas River at not less than $2 per acre, and the portion 
west of thatriver at not less than $1.50 per acre, Further provision 
was also made, by the same act, for its disposal on certain conditions 
to actual settlers, and any portion not being rendered amenable to these 
conditions was to be sold on sealed bids at not less than the minimum 
price fixed by the act. A considerable quantity of the most fertile por- 
tion of the tract was thus disposed of to actual settlers, though, as an 
encouragement to the sale, Congress was induced to pass an act? ex- 
tending the limit of payment required of settlers to January 1, 1875. 
The price fixed by the act of 1872 being so high as to render the re- 
mainder of the land unattractive to settlers, a subsequent act of Con- 
gress* directed that all unsold portions of the said tract should be 
offered through the General Land Office to settlers at $1.25 per aere, for 
the period of one year, and that all land remaining unsold at the ex- 
piration of that period should be sold for cash at not less than $1 per 
acre. This act was conditional upon the approval of the Cherokee 
national council, which assent was promptly given, and the lands were 
disposed of under its provisions. 

Shortly after the ratification of the treaty of 1866 steps were taken 
toward a disposition of the ‘‘neutral lands.” Under date of August 
30 of that year Hon. James Harlan, Secretary of the Interior, entered 
into a contract with a corporation known as the American [Emigrant 
Company, whereby that company became the purchaser, subject to 
the limitations and restrictions set forth in the seventeenth article of the 
treaty, of the whole tract of neutral land at the price of $1 per acre, 
payable in installments, running through a period of several years. 
This contract was subsequently declared invalid+ by Hon. O. H. Brown- 
ing, the successor of Secretary Harlan, on the score that the proviso ‘‘for 
cash,” contained in the treaty of 1866, in the common business accepta- 
tion of the term, meant a payment of the purchase price in full by the 


1 May 11, 1872. United States Statutes at Large, Vol. XVII, p. 98. 

*April 29, 1874. United States Statutes at Large, Vol. XVIII, p. 41. 

5 February 28, 1877. United States Statutes at Large, Vol. XIX, p. 265. 

4See treaty of April 27, 1858. United States Statutes at Large, Vol. XVI, p. 727. 


350 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


purchaser at the time of the sale, and was intended to forbid any sale 
on deferred payments. 

In the following spring! an agreement was entered into between the 
Cherokee authorities and the Atlantic and Pacific Railway Company, 
which involved a modification of the seventeenth article of the treaty of 
1866, and engaged to sell the ‘neutral lands” to that company on credit. 
This agreement was submitted by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs 
to the Seeretary of the Interior for transmission through the President 
to the Senate for ratification as an amended article to the treaty of 
July 19, 1866, but did not meet with favorable action. Subsequently” 
the Secretary of the Interior entered into an agreement with James F. 
Joy, of Detroit, Mich., whereby the latter became the purchaser of all 
that portion of the “neutral land” not subject to the rights of actual 
settlers, at the price of $1 per acre in cash. Difficulties having arisen 
by reason of the conflicting claims of the different would-be purchasers, 
it was finally deemed judicious to obviate them by coneluding a sup- 
plemental article to the treaty of 1866. This was accordingly done, at 
Washington, on the 27th of April, 1868, and the same was ratified and 
proclaimed on the 10th of June following.’ This supplemental treaty 
provided for the assignment by the American Emigrant Company to 
James F. Joy of its contract of August 30, 1866. It was further stip- 
ulated that that contract, in a modified form, should be reaffirmed and 
declared valid, and that the contract entered into with James F. Joy 
on the 9th of October, 1867, should be relinquished and canceled. 
Furthermore, it was agreed that the first contract, as modified, and the 
assignment to Joy, together with the relinquishment of the second con- 
tract, should be considered ratified and confirmed whenever such as- 
signment and relinquishment should be entered of record in the De- 
partment of the Interior and when James I’. Joy should have accepted 
such assignment and entered into a contract with the Secretary of the 
Interior to assume and perform all the obligations of the American 
Emigrant Company under the first mentioned contract as modified. 

The assignment of their contract with Secretary Harlan by the Amer- 
ican Emigrant Company to James I’. Joy was made on the 6th of June, 
1868. The contract of October 9, 1867, between Secretary Browning 
and James IF. Joy was relinquished by the latter June 8, 1868, and on 
the same day a new contract was entered into with Joy accepting the 
assignment of the American Emigrant Company and undertaking to 
assume and perform all the obligations of the original contractor there- 
under, subject to the modifications prescribed in the supplemental 
treaty of April 27, 1868.4 





!See report of Commissioner of Indian Affairs to Secretary of Interior, March 1, 
1867, transmitting the agreement. 

2 October 9, 1567. 

5 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. XVI, p. 727. 

4See Indian Office records. 


ROYCE. ] TREATY OF APRIL 27, 1868. Biot 


The requirement of the treaty of 1866 as to the appraisal of the nen- 
tral lands was carried into effect by the appointment of John T. Cox, on 
behalf of the United States, and of William A. Phillips, on behalf of 
the Cherokees, as commissioners of appraisal. From their report as 
corrected it is ascertained that the quantity awarded to settlers was 
154,395.12! acres; quantity purchased by Joy under his contract, 
640,199.69 acres. A portion of the lands awarded to settlers, but upon 
which default was made in payment, and amounting to 3,231.21” acres, 
was advertised and sold on sealed bids to the highest bidders.? A 
small portion‘ of the tract was also absorbed by the claims of Chero- 
kees who were settled thereon. The entire area of the neutral lands, 
as shown by the plats of survey, was 799,614.72 acres. 


APPRAISAL OF CONFISCATED PROPERTY — CENSUS. 


In pursuance of the third article of the treaty of 1866, and in accord- 
ance with the terms of an act of Congress approved July 27, 1868,° H. 
R. Kretschmar, on behalf of the United States, and —— Stephens, on 
behalf of the Cherokee Nation, were appointed, in the summer of 1568," 
commissioners to appraise the cost of property and improvements on 
farms confiscated and sold by the Cherokee Nation from acts growing 
out of the Southern rebellion. J.J. Humphreys had been appointed 
May 21 of the preceding year to perform the same duties, but had not 
fulfilled the object of his instructions. The commission reported‘ the 
value of the improvements of the character referred to as $4,657. 

Mr. H. Tompkins was designated in the summer of 1867° to take 
the census of Cherokees in the Indian Territory contemplated by the 
twelfth article of the treaty of 1866. From his returns it appears that 
the nation then numbered 13,566 souls. 


NEW TREATY CONCLUDED BUT NEVER RATIFIED. 


During the two years following the conclusion of the treaty of 1866 
peace and quietude prevailed among the Cherokees. They were blessed 
with abundant crops and the bitter animosities of the past years became 
ereatly softened, insomuch that the Secretary of the Interior, in the 
spring of 1868,° under the authority of the President, directed that ne- 
gotiations be opened with them for a new treaty in compliance with 





2See report of Commissioner Indian Affairs for 1571, p. 67! 
®° August 11, 1871. 
45,019.91 acres. 
5United States Statutes at Large, Vol. XV, p. 222. 
- 6August 27, 1868. 
7 December 23, 1868. 
8 July 6, 1867. 
®°March 3, 1862. 
“© February 26, 1868. 


352 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


on the 9th of July, 1868,1 between N. G. Taylor, commissioner on be- 
half of the United States, and the principal chiefs and delegates repre- 
senting the Cherokee Nation. The reasons rendering this treaty both 
desirable and necessary are thus set forth in the preamble, viz: 

Whereas the feuds and dissensions which for many years divided the Cherokees 
and retarded their progress and civilization have ceased to exist, and there remains 
no longer any cause for maintaining the political divisions and distinctions contem- 
plated by the treaty of 19th July, 1866; and whereas the whole Cherokee people 
are now united in peace and friendship, and are earnestly desirous of preserving and 
perpetuating the harmony and unity prevailing among them; and whereas many of 
the provisions of said treaty of July 19, 1866, are so obscure and ambiguous as to render 
their true intent and meaning on important points difficult to define and impossi- 
ble to execute and may become a fruitful source of conflict not only amongst the Chero- 
kees themselves but between the authorities of the United States and the Cherokee 
Nation and citizens; and whereas important interests remain unsettled between the 
Government of the United States and the Cherokee Nation and its citizens, whieh in 
justice to all concerned ought to be speedily adjusted: Therefore, with a view to the 
preservation of that harmony which now so happily subsists among the Cherokees, 
and to the adjustment of all unsettled business growing out of treaty stipulations 
between the Cherokee Nation and the Government of the United States, it is mutu- 
ally agreed by the parties to this treaty as follows, ete. 

Among the more important objects sought to be accomplished, and for 
which provision was made in the treaty, were: 

1. The abolition of all party distinctions among the Cherokees and 
the abrogation of all laws or treaty provisions tending to preserve such 
distinctions. 

2. The boundaries of the Cherokee country are defined in detail and 
as extending as far west as the northeast corner of New Mexico. 

3. The United States reaffirm all obligations to the Cherokees arising 
out of treaty stipulations or legislative acts of the Government. 

4, The United States having by article 2 of the treaty with the Co- 
manches and Kiowas of October 18, 1865, set apart for their use and 
occupation and that of other friendly tribes that portion of the Cherokee 
domain lying west of 98° W. longitude and south of 37° N. latitude; and 
having further, by article 16 of Cherokee treaty of July 19, 1866, set 
apart in effect for the like purpose of settling friendly Indians thereon 
all the remaining Cherokee domain west of 96° W. longitude, agree to 
pay to the Cherokees therefor, including the tract known as the ‘ Chero- 
kee strip,” in the State of Kansas, and estimated to contain in the 
aggregate the quantity of 13,768,000 acres, the sum of $3,500,000. This 
agreement was accompanied with the proviso that the Cherokees should 
further relinquish to the United States all right and interest in and to 
that portion of the Cherokee “ outlet” embraced within the Pan Handle 
of Texas, containing about 3,000,000 acres, as well as that portion within 
New Mexico and Colorado, excepting and reserving, however, all salines 
west of 99° to the Cherokees. 

5. The United States agree to refund to the Cherokees the sum of 





1See document ‘‘ Fortieth Congress, second session — confidential — Executive 3 P.” 


ROYCE. | TREATY OF APRIL 27, 1868. 353 


$500,000 paid by the latter for the tract of ‘neutral land,” under the 
treaty of 1835, together with 5 per cent. interest from the date of that 
treaty, and to apply for the use and benefit of the former all moneys 
aceruing from the sale of that tract. 

6. The United States agree to ascertain the number of acres of land 
reserved and owned by the Cherokee Nation in the State of Arkansas, 
and in States east of the Mississippi River, and to pay to the Cherokees 
the appraised value thereof. 

7. The United States agree to pay all arrears of Cherokee annuities 
aceruing during the war and remaining unpaid. 

8. Citizens of the United States having become citizens of the Cher- 
okee Nation, shall not be held to answer before any court of the United 
States any further than if they were native-born Cherokees. All Cher- 
okees shall be held to answer for any offense committed among them- 
selves within the Cherokee Nation only to the courts of that nation, 
and for any offense committed without the limitsof the nation shall be 
answerable only in the courts of the United States. 

9. The post and reservation of Fort Gibson having been reoceupied 
by the United States, it is agreed that all Cherokees who purchased 
lots at the former sale of the military reserve by the Cherokee authori- 
ties, after its abandonment by the United States, shall be reimbursed 
for all losses occasioned by such military reoccupation. 

10. The United States shall continue to appoint a superintendent of 
Indian affairs for the Indian Territory and an agent for the Cherokees. 

11. A commission of three persons (two citizens of the United States 
and one Cherokee) shall be appointed to pass upon and adjudicate all 
claims of the Cherokee Nation, or its citizens, against the United States, 
or any of the several States. 

12. The powers of the agent provided for by the twenty-second arti- 
cle of the treaty of 1866 to examine the accounts of the Cherokee Na- 
tion with the United States are enlarged to include the accounts of 
individual Cherokees with the United States. 

13. All claims against the United States for Cherokee losses through 
the action of the military authorities of the United States, or from the 
neglect of the latter to afford the protection to the Cherokees guaran- 
teed by treaty stipulation, are to be examined and reported on by the 
commission appointed under the eleventh article of this treaty. 

14. Full faith and credit shall be given by the United States to the 
public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of the Cherokee Nation 
when properly authenticated. 

15. Cherokees east of the Mississippi River, who remove within three 
years to the Cherokee Nation, shall be entitled to all the privileges of 
citizens thereof. After that date they can only be admitted to citizen- 
ship by act of the Cherokee national council. 

16. Every Cherokee shall have the free right to sell, ship, or drive to 
market any of his produce, wares, or live stock without taxation by the 

5. ETH——25 


354 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


United States, or any State, and no license to trade in the Cherokee 
Nation shall be granted unless approved by the Cherokee council. 

17. Fifty thousand dollars shall be allowed for the expenses of the 
Cherokee delegation in negotiating this treaty, one half to be paid out 
of their national fund. 

18. Executors and administrators of the owners of confiscated prop- 
erty shall have the right, under the third article of the treaty of 1866, to 
take possession of such property. 

19. Twenty-four thousand dollars shall be paid by the Cherokee Na- 
tion to the heir of Bluford West, as the value of a saline and improve- 
ments of which he was dispossessed. 

20. Abrogation is declared of so much of article 7, treaty of 1866, as 
vests in United States courts jurisdiction of causes arising between 
citizens of the Cherokee Nation, and transfers such jurisdiction to the 
Cherokee courts. 

21. Provision of the treaty of 1866 relative to freedmen is reaffirmed ; 
the United States guarantee the Cherokees in the possession of their 
lands and protection from domestic strife, hostile invasions, and aggres- 
sions by other Indian tribes or lawless whites. 


BOUNDARIES OF THE CHEROKEE DOMAIN, 


During the proceedings incident to the negotiation of this treaty the 
question arose as to what constituted the proper western limit of the 
Cherokee country. 

The Cherokees themselves claimed that their territory extended at 
least as far west as 103° west longitude, being the northeast corner of 
New Mexico. Their claim was based in part upon the second article of 
the treaty of 1528,' the first article of the treaty of 1833,? the second 
article of the treaty of 1835,° and the first article of the treaty of 1846.4 

The treaty of 1828 guaranteed to the Cherokees seven millions of 
acres of land, and then declared in the following words: “In addition 
to the seven millions of acres thus provided for, and bounded, the 
United States further guarantee to the Cherokee Nation a perpetual 
outlet west, and a free and unmolested use of all the country lying west 
of the western boundary of the above described limits, and as far west 
as the sovereignty of the United States and their right of soil extend.” 

This guarantee was reaffirmed in similar language by the treaties of 
1833 and 1835, and the guaranty contained in the treaty of 1835 was 
reaffirmed by the treaty of 1846. The question, therefore, to be deter- 
mined was what constituted the extreme western limit of the sover- 
eignty of the United States in that vicinity. 

The colony or province of Louisiana had originally belonged to France. 


1United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 311. 
2Tbid., p. 414. 

8Tbid., p. 478. 

‘United States Statutes at Large, Vol. IX, p. 871 





ROYCE] - TREATY OF APRIL 27, I86r. 355 


In 1762 it was transferred to Spain, but was by Spain retroceded to 
France by the treaty of 1800. In 1803 the Emperor Napoleon, fearing 
a war with England and the consequent occupation of the territory by 
that power, ceded it to the United States, but the boundaries of the 
cession were very indefinite and, according to Chief Justice Marshall, 
were couched in terms of “studied ambiguity.” 

It seems to have been consistently claimed by the United States up 
to the treaty of 1819 with Spain that the western boundary of the 
Louisiana purchase extended to the Rio Grande River. The better 
opinion seemed also to be that it followed up the Rio Grande from the 
mouth to the mouth of the Pecos, and thence north. By that treaty, 
however, all dispute concerning boundaries was adjusted and the unde- 
fined boundary between Louisiana and Mexico was settled as following up 
the course of the Sabine River to the Red River; thence by the course of 
that river to the one hundredth meridian, thence north to the Arkansas 
River and following the course of that river to the forty-second parallel, 
and thence west to the Pacific Ocean. By many the position was taken 
that this treaty was a nudum pactum, and Henry Clay, when it was 
under consideration in the Senate, introduced a resolution into the 
House of Representatives declaring that Texas, being a part of the 
territory of the United States, could not be ceded by the treaty making 
power to a foreign country, and that the act was not only unauthorized 
by the Constitution but was void for another reason, viz, that this 
cession to Spain was in direct conflict with clear and positive stipula- 
tions made by us in the treaty with France as to the disposition of the 
whole territory. Under this theory of the invalidity of the treaty of 
1819 the Cherokees claimed the extension of their boundary west of the 
one hundredth meridian. - But, assuming the insufficiency of this claim, 
they still fortified their title upon another proposition. Mexico sue- 
ceeded, by the consummation of her independence, to all the territorial 
rights of Spain in this region. Texasin turn achieved her independence 
of Mexico in 1836. In March, 1845, Texas became one of the United 
States, and thus, according to the Cherokee assumption, ‘ the United 
States again came into possession of that portion of the outlet west of 
100°, if indeed it had ever been a part of the territory claimed by Mexico 
and which by Texan independence she was forced to relinquish. The 
United States, more than a year after she had come into possession of 
the country now claimed by the Cherokees, reaffirmed the grant te them, 
that is to say, by the treaty of August 17, 1846.” 

The “ portion of the outlet west of 100°” here alluded to is the strip 
of country lying between Kansas and Texas from north to south and 
between the 100° and New Mexico from east to west. By act of 
Congress of September 9, 1850,! the east boundary of New Mexico was 
fixed at 103° west longitude and the north boundary of Texas at 36° 


1 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. IX, p. 446. 











356 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


30/ north latitude, and by act of May 30, 1854,) the south boundary of 
Kansas was established at 37° north latitude, thus leaving this strip of 
country outside the limits of any organized State or Territory, and so 
it stillremains. This claim of the Cherokees was admitted by the Com- 
missioner of Indian Affairs at the time of the conclusion of the treaty of 
July 9, 1868, to be a valid one, and was inserted in the boundaries de- 
fined by that treaty. The treaty, however, failed of ratification, and it 
was afterwards determined by the executive authorities of the United 
States that at the date of the treaty of 1855 with the Cherokees the sov- 
ereignty of the United States extended only to the one hundredth 
meridian, and that the reaffirmation of the treaty guarantee of 1835 by 
subsequent treaties was not intended to enlarge the area of their ter- 
ritory, but simply as an assurance that the United States were fully 
conscious of their obligation to maintain the integrity of such guarantee. 
Consequently the Cherokee outlet was limited in its western protrac- 
tion to that meridian. 


DELAWARES, MUNSEES, AND SHAWNEES JOIN THE CHEROKEES, 


By the fifteenth article of the treaty of 1866 provision was made that, 
upon certain conditions, the United States should have the right to 
settle civilized Indians upon any unoccupied Cherokee territory east of 
96° west longitude. The material conditions limiting this right were 
that terms of settlement should be agreed upon between the Cherokees 
and the Indians so desiring to settle, subject to the approval of the 
President of the United States; also that, in case the immigrants 
desired to abandon their tribal relations and become citizens of the 
‘Cherokee Nation, they should first pay into the Cherokee national fund 
a sum of money which should sustain the same proportion to that fund 
that the number of immigrant Indians should sustain to the whole 
Cherokee population. If, on the other hand, the immigrants should 
decide to preserve their tribal relations, laws, customs, and usages not 
inconsistent with the constitution and Jaws of the Cherokee Nation, 
a tract of land was to be set apart for them by meies and bounds 
which should contain, if they so desired, a quantity equal to 160 acres 
for each soul. For this land they were to pay into the Cherokee 
national fund a sum to be agreed upon between themselves and the 
Cherokees, subject to the approval of the President, and also a sum 
bearing a ratio to the Cherokee national fund not greater than their 
numbers bore to the Cherokees. It was also stipulated that, if the 
Cherokees should refuse their assent to the location of any civilized 
tribe (in a tribal capacity) east of 96°, the President of the United 
States might, after a full hearing of tle case, overrule their objections 
and permit the settlement to be made. 

The Delawares were the first tribe to avail themselves of the benefits 
of the foregoing treaty provisions. Terms of agreement were entered 





1 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. X, p. 283. 


ROYOE. J TREATY OF APRIL 27, 1868. 307 


into between them and the Cherokees, which were ratified by the 
President on the 11th of April, 1867. Under the conditions of this 
instrument the Delawares selected a tract of land equal to 160 acres 
for each member of their tribe who should remove to the Cherokee 
country. For this tract they agreed to and did pay one dollar per 
acre. They also paid their required proportional sum into the Chero- 
kee national fund. The number of Delawares who elected to remove 
under this agreement was 985. The sums they were required to pay 
were: for land, $157,600; and as their proportion of the national fund, 
$121,834.65, the latter amount having been calculated on the basis of 
an existing Cherokee national fund of $1,678,000 and a population of 
13,566. ; 

For a time after their removal the Delawares were much dissatisfied 
with what they characterized as the unequal operation of the Cherokee 
laws, and because much of the tract of land to which they were as- 
signed was of an inferior character. At one time some two hundred 
- of them left the Cherokee country, but after an absence of two years 

returned, since which a feeling of better contentment has prevailed. 
Following the Delawares, the Munsee or Christian Indians, a small 
fragmentary band who under the treaty of July 16, 1859, had become 
confederated with the Chippewas of Saginaw, Swan Creek, and Black 
River, residing in Kansas, perfected arrangements for their removal and 
assimilation with the Cherokees. 

An agreement was entered into” at Tahlequah, Cherokee Nation, hay- 

ing this end in view, and which was duly filed with the Commissioner of 
Indian Affairs? The condition of this agreement was that, after the 
complete dissolution of their relations with the Chippewas, the Munsees 
should pay into the Cherokee national fund all moneys that should be 
found due them in pursuance of such separation. In the spring of 1868 
an effort was made by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, under the 
authority of this same article of the treaty of 1866, to secure a tract 
of 900,000 acres for the location of the Navajoes. This tract, it was: 
‘desired, should be so far east of 96° that sufficient room should be 
left between the Navajoes and that meridian to admit of the accom- 
modation of a settlement of Cherokees thereon. This proposition, 
however, the Cherokees refused to entertain, asserting that the Nav- 
ajoes weré not civilized Indians within the meaning of the treaty of 
1866.4 

The next Indians to avail themselves of the privileges of Cherokee 
citizenship were the Shawnees. By the treaty of 1825° a reserve had 
been granted them covering an area in the richest portion of what is now 








' Indian Office records. 
2 December 6, 1867. 
®July 31, 1868. 

4 Letter of Cherokee delegation to Commissioner of Indian Affairs, April 23, 1868. 
*Treaty of November 7, 1825, in United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 284, 


358 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


the State of Kansas 50 by 120 miles in extent. By asubsequent treaty 
in 1854,! they ceded, in deference to the demands of encroaching civili- 
zation, all of this immense tract except 200,000 acres. Among those 
who so elected, the greater portion of this diminished reserve was 
divided into individual allotments of 200 acres each. Patents were 
issued to the head of each family for the quantity thus allotted to the 
members of his or her family, with the power of alienation, subject to 
such restrictions as the Secretary of the Interior might prescribe. In 
course of time alienation was made by these allottees of the greater 
portion of their land; the money thus received was squandered with 
the thriftless prodigality that characterizes barbarous or semi-civilized 
tribes the world over, and their impoverished condition was rendered 
still more uncomfortable by the seeming determination of the rapidly 
increasing white settlers to take possession of their few remaining 
lands. In this unfortunate condition of affairs they turned their eyes 
for relief toward the country of the Cherokees. Negotiations were en- 
tered into which resulted in the conclusion of an agreement, under date 
of June 7, 1869, and which received the approval of President Grant 
two days later. By the terms of this compact, the Shawnees then resid- 
ing in Kansas, as well as their absentee brethren in the Indian Terri- 
tory and elsewhere, who should enroll themselves and permanently 
remove within two years to the Cherokee country, upon unoceupied 
Jands east of 96°, should be incorporated into, and ever after remain a 
part of the Cherokee Nation, with the same standing in every respect 
as native Cherokees. In consideration of these benefits the Shawnees 
agreed to transfer to the Cherokee national fund a permanent annuity 
of $5,000 held by them under previous treaties, in addition to the sum 
of $50,000 to be derived from the sale of the absentee Shawnee lands 
provided for by the resolution of Congress approved April 7, 1869.7 
Under the provisions of this agreement, seven hundred and seventy 
Shawnees removed to and settled in the Cherokee country, as shown by 
the census roll filed? with the Commissioner of Indian Affairs. 





FRIENDLY TRIBES TO BE LOCATED ON CHEROKEE LANDS WEST OF 96°. 


In addition to the provision contained in the treaty of 1866 concern- 
ing the location of civilized Indians east of 96°, the sixteenth article 
of that treaty made further provison enabling the United States to 
locate friendly tribes on Cherokee lands west of that meridian. The 
conditions of this concession were that any tracts selected for such 
jocation should be in compact form and in quantity not exceeding 160 
acres for each member of the tribe so located, and that the boundaries 
of the tracts should be surveyed and marked and should be conveyed 





2 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. XVI, p. 53. 
3 August 14, 1871. 


— 7 


ROYCE. ] TREATY OF APKIL 27, 1863. 359 


stipulated that the price to be paid for the lands so set apart should be 
such as might be agreed upon between the Cherokees and the immi- 
grant tribes, subject to the approval of the President of the United 
States, who, in case of a disagreement between the parties in interest, 
was authorized to fix the value. 

Osages.—The treaty of September 29, 1865,! with the Osages, hav- 
ing in view the possibility of some early arrangement whereby the 
Kansas tribes might be removed to Indian Territory, made provision 
that in case such a removal of the Osages should take place their re- 
maining lands in Kansas should be disposed of and 50 per cent. of the 
proceeds might be applied to the purchase of their new home. Nothing 
was done in the line of carrying out this idea until the spring of 1868, 
when, in reply? toa communication from the Commissioner of Indian 
Affairs on the subject, the Cherokee delegation asserted the willingness 
of their nation to dispose of a tract for the future home of the Osages 
not exceeding 600,000 acres in extent and lying west of 96°, provided 
a reasonable price could be agreed upon for the same. <A few weeks 
later* a treaty was concluded between the United States and the 
Osages, which made provision for setting apart a tract for their oceu- 
pation in the district of country in question, but the treaty failed of 
ratification. The necessity for their removal trom Kansas, however, 
increased in correspondence with the demands of advancing settlements, 
and Congress, by an act approved July 15, 1870,* provided that, when- 
ever the Osages should give their assent, a tract should be set apart 
for their permanent occupancy in the Indian Territory equal in extent 
to 160 acres for each member of the tribe who should remove there. 
For this tract they wer. to pay a price not exceeding that paid by the 
United States, the cost to be defrayed out of the proceeds arising from 
the sale of their Kansas lands. The assent of the Osages to the provis- 
ions of this act was promptly secured through the medium of a commis- 
sion consisting of J. V. Farwell, J. D. Lang, and Vincent Colyer, of the 
President’s Board of Indian Commissioners. A tract was selected in the 
Cherokee country immediately west of 96°, as was supposed, and the 
Osages were removed to it. Their condition was for a time, however, 
most unsatisfactory. Many trespassers were found to be upon the lands 
selected for them. To crown this trouble, a new survey located the line of 
the 96th meridian a considerable distance to the west of what had pre- 
viously been presumed its proper location. This survey deprived the 
Osages of the greater part of the tillable land upon which they had set- 
tled and included the most valuable of their improvements. To a prop- 
osition allowing the Osages to retain the lands thus found to be east of 
96°, the Cherokees returned an emphatic refusal, on the ground that the 





' United States Statutes at Large, Vol. XIV, p. 687. 
2 April 10, 1868. 
3 May 27, 1868. 
‘United States Statutes at Large, Vol. XVI, p. 362. 


360 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


former were not ‘civilized Indians.”! Another subject of annoyance 
was the inability of the Osages and Cherokees to agree upon a price for 
the lands selected by the former. The matter was therefore laid before 
the President, who, by executive order,’ fixed the price to be paid at 50 
cents peracre. To this action the Cherokees strenuously objected, urging 
that not only was the price too low, but that a uniform valuation ought 
to be fixed for all the Cherokee lands west of 96°. To remedy the 
evils arising from these complications, legislation was asked of Congress 
approving a new selection for the Osages, and, by act approved June 5, 
1872,‘ such selection was affirmed (the previous consent of the Chero- 
kees having been obtained),° to include the tract of country “ bounded 
on the east by the 96th meridian, on the south and west by the north 
line of the Creek country and the main channel of the Arkansas River, 
and on the north by the south line of the State of Kansas.” 

Kansas or Kaws.—This act contained a proviso that the Osages should 
permit the settlement within the limits of this tract of the Kansas or 
Kaw tribe of Indians, and a reservation was accordingly set off for them 
in the northwest corner, bounded on the west by the Arkansas River. 
The area of the country thus assigned to the Kaws was 100,137 acres, 
and of that portion intended for the occupation of the Osages 1,470,059 
acres.® 

The question of the future location of these Indians having been defi- 
nitely settled, it only remained for an agreement to be reached concern- 
ing the price to be paid to the Cherokees for the tract so purchased. 
The value fixed by the President on the tract originally selected was 
considered as having no application to the lands set apart by the act 
of 1872. As in the first instance no agreement was reached between 
the Osages and Cherokees, and the President was again called on to 
establish the price. This he did, after much discussion of the subject, 
on the 14th of February, 1873. The price fixed was 70 cents per acre, 
and applied to the “ Kaw reserve” as well as to that of the Osages. 

Pawnees.—In further pursuance of the privilege accorded by the 
treaty of 1866, the Pawnee tribe has also been located on Cherokee 
lands west of 96°. The Pawnees are natives of Nebraska, and pos- 
sessed as the remnant of their original domain a reservation on the 
Platte River, in that State. Their principal reliance as a food supply 
had been the buffalo, though to a very limited extent they cultivated 
corn and vegetables. 

For two years prior to 1874, however, their efforts in the chase were 
almost wholly unrewarded, and during the summer of that year their 





1 Letter of Cherokee delegation to Commissioner of Indian Affairs, February 15, 1871. 
2May 27, 1871. 

3 Letter of Cherokee delegation to Commissioner of Indian Affairs, June 10, 1871. 

4 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. XVII, p. 228. 

* April 8, 1872. 

*See surveyors’ plats on file in Indian Office. 





ROYCE. ] TREATY OF APRIL 27, 1868. 361 


small crops were entirely destroyed by the rayages of the grasshoppers. 
The winter and spring of 1874~75 found them, to the number of about 
three thousand, in a starving condition. In this dilemma they held a 
council and voted to remove to Indian Territory, asking permission at 
the same time to send the male portion of the tribe in advance to select 
a home and to break the necessary ground for planting crops. They 
also voted a request that the United States should proceed to sell their 
reserve in Nebraska, and thus secure funds for their proper establish- 
ment in the Indian Territory. Permission was granted them in accord- 
ance with their request, and legislation was asked of Congress to enable 
the desired arrangement to be carried into effect. Congress failed to 
take any action in relation to the subject during the session ending 
March 3, 1875. It therefore became necessary to feed the Pawnees dur- 
ing the ensuing season.! 

The following year, by an act approved April 10,? Congress provided 
for the sale of the Pawnee lands in Nebraska, as a means of securing 
funds for their relief and establishment in their new home, the bounda- 
ries of which are therein described. It consists of a tract of country in 
the forks of the Arkansas and Cimarron Rivers comprising an area of 
283,020 acres. Of this tract, 230,014 acres were originally a portion of 
the Cherokee domain west of 96° and were paid for at the rate of 70 
cents per acre. The remainder was ceded to the United States by the 
Creek treaty of 1866, 

Appraisal of the lands west of 96°.—By the 5th section of the Indian 
appropriation act of May 29, 1872,° the President of the United States 
was authorized to cause an appraisement to be made of that portion of 
the Cherokee lands lying west of 96° west longitude and west of the 
Osage lands, or, in other words, all of the Cherokee lands lying west of 
the Arkansas Niver and south of Kansas mentioned in the 16th article 
of the Cherokee treaty of July 19, 1866. No appropriation, however, 
was made to defray the expense of such an appraisal, and in conse. 
quence no steps were taken toward a compliance with the terms of the 
act. This legislation was had in deference to the long continued com- 
plaints of the Cherokees that the United States had, without their 
consent, appropriated to the use of other tribes a large portion of these 
lands, for which they (the Cherokees) had received no compensation. 
The history of these alleged unlawful appropriations of the Cherokee 
domain may be thus briefly summarized: 

1. By treaty of October 18, 1865,‘ with the Kiowas and Comanches, 
the United States set apart for their use and occupancy an immense 
tract of country, which in part included all of the Cherokee country 





1 See report of Commissioner of Indian Affairs to Secretary of the Interior, Mareh 
6, 1875. 

2 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. XIX, p. 28. 

* United States Statutes at Large, Vol. XVII, p. 190. 

*United States Statutes at Large, Vol. XIV, p. 717. 


362 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


west of the Cimarron River. No practical effect, however, was given 
to the treaty, because the United States had not at this time acquired 
any legal right to settle other tribes on the lands of the Cherokees and 
because of the fact that two years later! a new reservation was by 
treaty provided for the Kiowas and Comanches, no portion of which 
was within the Cherokee limits. 

2. By the treaty of October 28, 1867,? with the Southern Cheyennes 
and Arapahoes the United States undertook to set apart as a reserva- 
tion for their benefit all the country between the State of Kansas and 
the Arkansas and Cimarron Rivers. The bulk of this tract was 
within Cherokee limits west of 96°. As a matter of fact, however, the 
Cheyennes and Arapahoes could not be prevailed upon to take pos- 
session of this tract, and were finally, by Executive order,’ located on 
territory to the southwest and entirely outside the Cherokee limits. 

Pursuant to the act of May 29, 1872,4 the Commissioner of Indian 
Affairs negotiated an agreement with the Southern Cheyennes and 
Arapahoes in the following autumn ® by which they ceded to the United 
States all interest in the country set apart by the treaty of 1867, and 
accepted in lieu thereof a reserve which included within its limits a por- 
tion of the Cherokee domain lying between the Cimarron River and the 
North Fork of the Canadian. 

This agreement with the Southern Cheyennes and Arapahoes not hav- 
ing been ratified by Congress, an agreement was concluded late in the 
following year® by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs with both the 
Cheyennes and the Arapahoes, whereby they jointly ceded the tract 
assigned them by the treaty of 1867, as well as all other lands to which 
they had any claim in Indian Territory, in consideration of which the 
United States agreed to set apart other lands in that Territory for their 
future home. 

Like its predecessor, this agreement also failed of ratification by Con- 
gress, and the Indians affected by it still occupy the tract set apart by 
Executive order of 1869. 

In the light of these facts it appears that although the United States 
made several attempts, without the knowledge or concurrence of the 
Cherokees, to appropriate portions of the latter’s domain to the use 
of other tribes, yet as a matter of fact these tribes never availed or 
attempted to avail themselves of the benefits thus sought to be secured 
to them, and the Cherokees were not deprived at any time of an opportu- 
nity to sell any portion of their surplus domain for the location of other 
friendly tribes. 





1 Treaty of October 21, 1867, United States Statutes at Large, Vol. XV, p. 581. 
2 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. XV, p. 593. 

> August 10, 1869. 

4+United States Statutes at Large, Vol. XVII, p. 190. 

5 October 24, 1872. 

© November 18, 1873. 


ROYCE ] TREATY OF APRIL 27, 1868. 363 


By a clause contained in the sundry civil appropriation act of July 31, 
1876,' provision was made for defraying the expenses of the commission 
of appraisal contemplated by the act of 1872, and the Secretary of the 
Interior appointed? such a commission, consisting of Thomas V. Ken- 
nard, Enoch H. Topping, and Thomas E. Smith. Before the completion 
of the duties assigned them, Mr. Kennard resigned and William N. Wil- 
kerson was appointed ® to succeed him. The commission convened at 
Lawrence, Kansas, and proceeded thence to the Cherokee country, 
where they began the work of examination and appraisal. Their final 
report was submitted to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs under date 
of December 12, 1877. From this report it appears that the commis" 
sioners in fixing their valuations adopted as the standard of their ap- 
praisal one-half the actual value of the lands, on the theory that being 
for Indian occupancy and settlement only they were worth only about 
half as much as they would have been if open to entry and settlement 
by the white people. 

The entire tract, including the Pawnee reserve, contains 6,574,576.05 
acres, and was appraised at an average valuation of 41} cents per acre. 
The average valuation placed upon the Pawnee reserve separately was 
59 cents per acre, leaving the average of the remaining 6,344,562.01 
acres 40.47 cents per acre. 

To this standard of appraisal the Cherokees strenuously objected as 
being most unfair and unjust to them, claiming that the same measure 
of value used by the United States in rating its lands of a similar char- 
acter in the adjoining State of Kansas, and from which they were sep- 
arated only by an imaginary line, should prevail in determining the 
price to be paid for the Cherokee lands. 

The Secretary of the Interior, after a careful examination of the 
whole subject, was of the opinion‘ that the restriction placed upon the 
use of these lands (being limited to Indian occupancy only) did not 
warrant a reduction of 50 per cent. in an appraisal of their value. 

The price paid by the Osages for their reserve was 70 cents per acre. 
The Pawnee tract was of about the same general character as that 
of the Osages, and there seemed to be no good reason why the same 
price should not be allowed to the Cherokces therefor. This Pawnee 
tract was appraised by the commissioners at 59 cents per acre. AS 
the appraisal of the whole unoccupied country west of 96° was made 
by the same appraisers and upon the same basis, if an increase was 
determined upon in the case of the Pawnee tract from 59 to 70 cents 
per acre, it was only just that a proportionate increase above the ap- 
praised value of the remainder of the lands should also be allowed. 





1 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. XIX, p. 120. 

2 January 30, 1577. 

3 September 8, 1577. 

‘Letter of the Secretary of the Interior to the President, June 21, 1879. 


364 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


This would give an increase for the latter from 40.47 cents to 47.49 per 
acre. The adoption of this standard was therefore recommended to 
the President and was by him approved and ratified.! 

In addition to the Osages, Kansas, and Pawnees there have been re- 
moved to the Cherokee lands west of 96° the Poneas, a portion of the 
Nez Percés, and the Otoes and Missourias. 

Poncas.—An appropriation of $25,000 was made by act of Congress 
approved August 15, 1876,’ for the removal of the Poneas, whenever 
their assent should be‘obtained. After much trouble and a threatened 
resort to military force, their assent to remove to the Indian Territory 
was secured in the beginning of 1877.5 They came overland from Ne- 
braska in two different parties and encountered great hardships, but 
finally reached the Territory, where they were temporarily located on 
the northeast portion of the Quapaw reserve, a few miles from Baxter 
Springs, Kansas.? 

They were not satisfied with the location, which was in many respects 
unsuitable, especially in view of its proximity to the white settlements. 
They were, therefore, permitted to make another selection, which they 
did in the Cherokee country, on the west bank of the Arkansas, includ- 
ing both banks of the Salt Fork at its junction with the parent stream. 
To this new home they removed in 1878,° but it was not until 1881° 
that Congress made an appropriation out of which to pay the Cherokees 


for the land so occupied. This tract embraces 101,894.31 acres, for 


which the price of 47.49 cents per acre, fixed by the President, was paid. 
Nez Percés.—The Nez Percés, previously alluded to, are the remnant 


of Chief Joseph’s band, who surrendered to General Miles in 1877. 


They were at first removed from the place of their surrender to Fort 
Leavenworth, Kansas, where they arrived in November of that year as 
prisoners of war, to the number of 431. Congress having made pro- 
vision’ for their settlement in the Indian Territory, a reservation was 
selected for them on both sides of the Salt Fork of the Arkansas. To 
this tract, which adjoined the Ponecas on the west, they removed in 
the summer of 1879,’ having in the mean time lost a large number by 
death, the mortality being occasioned in great measure by their unsan- 
itary location while at Fort Leavenworth. The reserve selected for 
them contains 90,735 acres and was paid for at the same price as that 
of the Poneas. 

Otoes and Méssourias.—By act of March 3, 1881,° provision was also 

' June 23, 1879. ° 

> United States Statutes at Large, Vol. XIX, p. 187. 
3 January"27, 1877. 
4 Report of Commissioner of Indian Affairs for 1877, pp. 21-23. 
‘Report of Commissioner of Indian Affairs for 1878, p. xxxvi. 
6 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. XXI, p. 380. 
7 Act of May 27, 1878, United States Statutes at Large, Vol. XX, p. 63. 
§ Report of Commissioner of Indian Affairs for 1879, p. xl. 


ROYER. | TREATY OF APRIL 27, 1868. 365 


made for the removal of the Otoes and Missourias to the Indian Terri- 
tory and for the sale of their lands in Nebraska. 

A reservation was accordingly selected for them west of the Arkan- 
sas River and south of the Ponca Reserve, to which they were removed 
in the autumn of the same year.’ It contains 129,113.20 acres and was 
paid for at the same rate as that of the Poncas and Nez Percés.? 


EAST AND NORTIL BOUNDARIES OF CHEROKEE COUNTRY. 


For many years there had been much doubt and dispute concerning 
the correctness of the boundary line between the Cherokee Nation and 
the adjacent States. Especially had this been the cause of much con- 
troversy with the citizens of Arkansas. In the interest of a final adjust- 
ment of the matter, it was stipulated in the twenty-first article of the 
Cherokee treaty of July.19, 1866, that the United States should, at its 
own expense, cause such boundary to be resurveyed between the Cher- 
okee Nation and the States of Arkansas, Missouri, and of Kansas as far 
west as the Arkansas River, and the same should be marked by perma- 
nent and conspicuous monuments by two commissioners, one of whom 
should be designated by the Cherokee national council. 

Nothing definite was done in pursuance of this provision until the year 
1871, when W. D. Gallagher was* appointed a commissioner on behalf 
of the United States to co-operate with the commissioner on the part of 
the Cherokees. Mr. Gallagher declined and R. G. Corwin was. substi- 
tuted in his stead, but he having also refused to serve, the place was 
finally filled by the appointment’ of James M. Ashley. The Cherokee 
national council on their part selected John Lynch Adair. The com- 
mission advertised for proposals for the surveying, and, as a result, en- 
tered into contract with D. P. Mitchell, who completed the survey to 
the satisfaction of the commissioners. The new line from Fort Smith, 
Ark., to the southwest corner of Missouri ran north 7° 50! west, 77 
miles 59.08 chains; thence to the southeast corner of the Seneca lands 
it ran north 0° 02’ west 8 miles 53.68 chains. The north boundary 
between the nation and the State of Kansas, extending from the Neosho 
to the Arkansas River, was protracted due west on the 37° of north lati- 
tude and was found to be 105 miles 60 chains and 75 links in length. 
The report of the commissioners was approved by the Secretary of the 





‘Report of Commissioner of Indian Affairs for 1881, p. Ixiii. The removai was 
accomplished between October 5 and October 23. 

> Deeds were executed June 14, 1883, by the Cherokee Nation to the United States 
in trust for each of the tribes located upon Cherokee country west of 96°, such 
deeds being in each case for the quantity of land comprised within the tracts re- 
spectively selected by or for them for their future use and oceupation. See Report 
of Commissioner of Indian Affairs, for 1883, p. lil. 

*February 27, 1871. 

4 April 14, 1871. 

5 May 4, 1871. 

*The survey was approved by the commissioners December 11, 1871. 


366 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


Interior, and although some distress for the time being was occasioned 
to individual settlers, whose improvements were by the resurvey of the 
line thrown within the limits of the Indian Territory, the boundary has 
been so plainly marked that “he who runs may read.” 


RAILROADS THROUGH INDIAN TERRITORY. 


The series of treaties concluded in 1866 with the five principal tribes 
in Indian Territory all contained limited concessions of right of way 
for railroads through their country tothe State of Texas. The eleventh 
article of the Cherokee treaty contained a grant of right of way 200 
feet in width to a contemplated railroad through their domain from 
north to south and also from east to west. In pursuance of these treaty 
concessions, as essentially a part of the same scheme, Congress, by ap- 
propriate legislation,! granted public lands and privileges to the Kansas 
and Neosho, the southern branch of the Union Pacific, and the Atlantic 
and Pacifie Railroad Companies, respectively, for the construction of their 
roads. The Leavenworth, Lawrence and Fort Gibson Railroad was also 
conceded like privileges. The stipulated point of entering the Indian 
Territory was in each case the west bank of Neosho River, where it 
crosses the Kansas line. As there seemed to be some question whether 
more than one line of road would be permitted to traverse the Terri- 
tory in each direction a race was inaugurated between all the north and 
south lines, each in the effort to outstrip the other in reaching the pre- 
scribed point for entering the Indian country. The Union Pacifie 
Southern Branch (subsequently known as the Missouri, Kansas, and 
Texas) Railway Company, in the fervency of their desire to reach the 
line first, omitted the construction of a portion of their route, and began 
operations within the limits of the Cherokee country without having 
received the previous permission of either the United States or the 
Cherokee authorities so to do. To this conduct the Cherokees made 
vigorous objection, and appealed to the Secretary of the Interior. That 
officer notified? the railroad officials that the Cherokees did not recog- 
nize their right to so intrude upon the Territory, and that no work of the 
kind referred to could be permitted therein until the Executive should 
be satisfied, by evidence submitted in proper manner, that such entry 
and occupation were in accordance with law. Thereupon the officers 
and attorneys of the several companies interested appeared and sub- 
mitted arguments before the Secretary of the Interior on behalf of their 
respective interests. The point submitted for the consideration of the 
Secretary and for the determination of the President was, what rights 
had been given to railroad companies to construct railroads through the 
Indian Territory and what railroads, if any, were entitled to such priv- 
ileges and right of way. 

On the part of the Indians it was claimed that the whole scheme of 








1 Acts of July 25, 26, and 27, 1866. 
2 May 13, 1870. 


ROYCE ] TREATY OF APRIL 27, 1868. 367 


treaties and of legislation looked to the construction of but a single 
trunk road through the Territory from north to south, and, as far as the 
Cherokee Nation was concerned, for the like construction of but a single 
road through its territory from east to west. This interpretation of the 
treaties and the laws was admitted to be the correct one by all the 
companies but the Missouri, Kansas, and Texas. This company in- 
sisted that the meaning of the legislation and of the treaties was to 
give the right of way to as many roads as might in any manner be 
authorized by Congress to enter the Territory. 

The Secretary of the Interior in his opinion! expressed an emphatic 
concurrence in the interpretation insisted upon by the Cherokee dele- 
gation. He was further of the opinion that neither of the roads had so 
far earned aright to enter the Indian country by the construction of a con- 
tinuous line of road to the legal point of entrance, but that as it might 
soon be necessary to decide which company should first completely 
fulfill the conditions of the law, an executive order ought to be issued. 
declaring that no railroad company should be permitted to enter the 
Territory for the purpose of grading or constructing a railroad until a 
report should be received from a commission composed of the superin- 
tendents of Indian affairs for the central and southern superintenden- 
cies designating which company had first reached the line. These views 
and findings of the Secretary of the Interior were approved by the 
President and directed to be carried into effect. 

This commission reported’ that the Union Pacific Railway, southern 
branch — otherwise the Missouri, Kansas, and Texas Railway —reached 
the northern boundary of the Indian Territory, in the valley of the Ne- 
osho River on the west side, and about one mile therefrom, at noon on 
the 6th day of June, 1870, and that at that time there was no other 
railroad nearer than 16 miles of that point. 

Predicated upon this report, supplemented by the certificate of the 
governor of Kansas that it was a first class completed railway up to 
that point, permission was given the Missouri, Kansas, and Texas Rail- 
way Company by the President, under certain stipulations and restric- 
tions as to the methods and character of construction, to proceed with 
the work of building a trunk road through the Indian Territory to a 
point at or near Preston, in the State of Texas, and the road was rap- 
idly constructed under this authority. 

The Atlantic and Pacific road, having no competitor, experienced no 
difficulty in securing the right of construction of its east and west line 
through the Cherokee country. 


REMOVAL OF INTRUDERS— CHEROKEE CITIZENSHIP. 


On various pretexts, both white and colored men had from time 
to time established themselves among the Cherokees and taken up their 





' May 21, 1870. 
2May 23, 1870. 
3 June 13, 1870. 


368 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


residence as permanent citizens of the nation. The increase of their 
numbers at length became so formidable and their influence upon the 
national polity and legislation of the Cherokees so great as to exeite 
the apprehension and jealousy of the latter. 

The policy of their removal therefore became a subject of serious 
consideration with the national council. This involved a question as 
to what were the essential prerequisites of Cherokee citizenship, and 
who of the objectionable class were entitled, on any score, to the 
privileges of such citizenship, as well as who were mere naked in- 
truders. Upon these points the national council assumed to exercise 
absolute control, and proceeded to enact laws for the removal of all 
persons, both white and colored, whom the council should declare not 
entitled to remain in the Cherokee country.! The action of the coun. 
cil in this respect was communicated to the Indian Department in the 
fall of 1874, through the United States agent for that tribe, coupled with 
a demand for the removal by the military force of the United States of 
all who had thus been declared to be intruders. The Department not 
being fully satisfied of the justice of this demand, detailed an inspector 
to proceed to the Indian country and make a thorough investigation of 
the subject. His report? revealed the fact that there were large numbers 
of people in that country who had been declared intruders by the national 
authorities, but who had presented to him strong ex parteevidence of their 
right to Cherokee citizenship, either by blood, by adoption, or under the 
termsof the 9th article of the treaty of 1866 defining the status of colored 
people. Affidavits in large numbers corroborative of the inspectors re- 
port continued to be filed in the Indian Department during the succeed- 
ing summer, from which it appeared that many persons belonging to 
each of the classes alluded to had applied to the courts or to the couneil 
of the nation for an affirmative ruling upon their claim to citizenship, 
but that in many instances such applications had been entirely ignored. 
In other cases, where the courts had actually affirmed the right 
of applicants, the council had arbitrarily and without notice placed 
their names upon the list of intruders and called upon the United 
States for their removal. In this situation of affairs the Indian De- 
partment advised® the principal chief of the Cherokees that the De- 
partment would neither remove these alleged intruders nor permit 
their removal.until the Cherokee council had devised a system of 
rules by which authority should be vested in the Cherokee courts to 
hear and determine all cases involving the citizenship of any person. 
These rules should be subject to the approval of the Secretary of the 





‘The persons affected by this action were comprised within four classes, viz: 

. White persons who had married into the tribe. 

. Persons with an admixture of Indian blood, through either father or mother, 
. Adopted persons. 

. Persons of African descent who claimed rights under the treaty of 1866, 

? February 15, 1876, 

3 October —, 1876. 


1 
9 
3 
4 


ROYCE. ] TREATY OF APRIL 27, 1868. 369 


Interior, to whom an appeal should also lie from any adverse decision 
of those courts. As there were a number of these intruders, however, 
who made no claim to the right of Cherokee citizenship, it was directed 
by the Interior Department, in the spring of 1877, that all who should 
not present prima facie evidence of such right should be summarily 
removed from the Territory. The main cause of difficulty, however, 
continuing unadjusted, the principal chief of the Cherokees asked the 
submission of the subject, from the Cherokee standpoint, to the 
Attorney-General of the United States for his opinion. This was done 
in the spring of 1879,' by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs through 
the Secretary of the Interior, wherein the former, alleging that the 
question submitted by the Cherokee authorities did not fully meet the | 
subject in dispute, and being desirous that a complete statement of the 
case should be presented to the Attorney-General, suggested three addi- 
tional inquiries for the consideration of that officer. These inquiries 
were, first, Have the Cherokee national authorities such original right 
of sovereignty over their country and their people as to vest in them the 
exclusive jurisdiction of all questions of citizenship in that nation with- 
out reference to the paramount authority of the United States? Second, 
Tf not, do they derive any such power or right by the provisions of any 
of the treaties beween the United States and the Cherokees? Third, 
Can they exclude from citizenship any of the Cherokees who did not 
remove under the provisions of the treaty of 1835 upon their removal 
to the Cherokee country as now defined by law? The reply’ of the 
Attorney-General was to the effect that it seemed quite plain in exe- 
cuting such treaties as those with the Cherokees, the United States 
were not bound to regard simply the Cherokee law and its construction 
by the council of that nation, but that any Department required to 
remove alleged intruders must determine for itself, under the general 
law of the land, the existence and extent of the exigency upon which 
such requisition was founded. 

One class of these so-called intruders, as previously suggested, was 
composed of colored people who resided in the Cherokee country prior 
to the war, either as slaves or freemen, and their descendants. 

The fourth article of the treaty of July 19, 1866, contained a provision 
setting apart a tract within the Cherokee country known as the 
Canadian district, for the settlement and occupancy of “all the Cherokees 
and freed persons who were formerly slaves of any Cherokee, and all 
free negroes not having been snech slaves who resided in the Cherokee 
Nation prior to June 1, 1861, who may within two years elect not to 
reside northeast of the Arkansas River and southeast of Grand River.” 

The fifth article of the same treaty guaranteed to such persons as 
should determine to reside in the district thus set apart the right to 
select their own local officers, judges, ete., and to manage and control 





1 April 4, 1879. 
2 December 12, 1879. 
5 ETH——24 


370 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


their local affairs in such manner as seemed most satisfactory to them 
not inconsistent with the constitution and laws of the Cherokee Nation 
or of the United States. Again it was provided by the ninth article of 
the treaty that all freedmen who had been liberated by voluntary act 
of their former owners or by law, as well as all free colored persons who 
were in the country at the commencement of the rebellion and were 
still residents therein or who should return within six months and 
their descendants, should have all the rights of native Cherokees. 
Congressional legislation was sought in 1879, having in view the en- 
forcement of this ninth article, but it failed of consummation.! The 
Cherokee council, in the mean time had passed? an act urging upon the 
United States the adoption of some measures calculated to reach a sat- 
isfactory adjustment of the status of the colored people within their 
jurisdiction, and requested the attendance of some properly authorized 
representative of the Government at their ensuing council for consul- 
tation as to the most satisfactory method of settling the vexed question. 
United States Indian Agent Tufts was accordingly instructed? to 
attend the council, which he did. It resulted in the passage * of an act 
by that body authorizing the principal chief to appoint a commission of 
three Cherokees to confer with the United States agent and draft arti- 
cles of agreement, which should, after receiving the approval of the 
council and of Congress, be considered as permanently fixing the status 
of the colored people. The agent, however, soon discovered that no 
action looking to the full recognition of the rights to which they were 
entitled was likely to receive favorable consideration. It seems from 
his report’ that it was still very unpopular in the Cherokee Nation to 
advocate any measure conceding to the colored people the same rights 
enjoyed by the Cherokees themselves, and that until a radical revolution 
of public sentiment should take place among them it was useless to expect 
any favorable action from the national council. Agent Tufts concluded 
his report with a recommendation that a commission be appointed by 
the Interior Department and instructed to hold sessions in the Chero- 
kee country, hear evidence, and determine the status of each disputed 
claimant to citizenship, subject to the final revision and approval of the 
Department. Inspector Ward and Special Agent Beede were, therefore, 
instructed ® to consult with Agent Tufts, and, after familiarizing them- 
selves with the question in ail its details, to visit the executive officers 
of the Cherokee Nation and see if some satisfactory solution of the 
troublesome problem could be brought about. This conference, like all 





1A bill to this effect was introduced into the Senate by Senator Ingalls, of Kansas, 
June 3, 1879, and reported from the Committee on Indian Affairs, with amendments, 
June 4, 1880, by Senator Williams, of Kentucky. 

2 December 6, 1879. 

® October 16, 1880. 

4November 23, 1820. 

5 January 26, 1882. 

® May 9, 1883. 


ROYCE. J GENERAL REMARKS. 371 


previous efforts, failed of accomplishing the desired end. Thus the 
question still stands, and all those persons who have been able to make 
out a prima facie showing of Cherokee citizenship, under the ruling of 
the Department, are allowed to remain in the Territory unmolested. 


GENERAL REMARKS. 


With the exception of these questions and complications arising out 
of the construction of the various articles of the treaty of July 19, 1866, 
nothing of an important character has occurred in connection with the 
official relations between the Cherokee Nation and the Federal Govy- 
ernment since the date of that treaty. 

Their history has been an eventful one. For two hundred years a 
contest involving their very existence as a people has been maintained 
against the unscrupulous rapacity of Anglo-Saxon civilization. By de- 
grees they were driven from their ancestral domain to an unknown and 
inhospitable region. The country of their fathers was peculiarly dear 
to them. It embraced the head springs of many of the most important 
streams of the country. From the summit of their own Blue Ridge 
they could watch the tiny rivulets on either side of them dashing and 
bounding over their rocky beds in their eagerness to join and swell the 
ever increasing volume of waters rolling toward the Atlantic Ocean or 
the Gulf of Mexico: the Tennessee and the Cumberland, the Kanawha 
and the Kentucky, the Peedee and the Santee, the Savannah and the 
Altamaha, the Chattahoochee and the Alabama, all found their begin- 
nings within the Cherokee domain. The bracing and invigorating atmos- 
phere of their mountains was wafted to the valleys and low lands of 
their more distant borders, tempering the heat and destroying the ma- 
laria. Much of their country was a succession of grand mountains, 
clothed with dense forests; of beautiful but narrow valleys, and exten- 
sive well watered plains. Every nook and corner of this vast territory 
was endeared to them by some incident of hunter, warrior, or domestic 
life. Over these hills and through the recesses of the dark forests the 
Cherokee hunter had from time immemorial pursued the deer, elk, and 
buffalo. Through and over them he had passed on his long and venge- 
ful journeys against the hated Iroquois and Shawnee. 

The blood of his ancestors, as well as of his enemies, could be trailed 
from the Hiwassee to the Ohio. The trophies of his skill and valor 
adorned the sides of his wigwam and furnished the theme for his 
beastful oratory and song around the council fire and at the dance. 
His wants were few and purely of a physical nature. His life was. 
devoted to the work of securing a sufficiency of food and the punish- 
ment of his enemies. His reputation among his fellow men was pro- 
portioned to the skill with which he could draw the bow, his cleverness: 
and agility in their simple athletic sports, or the keen and tireless 
manner that characterized his pursuit of an enemy’s trail. His life 


372 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


was simple, his wants were easily supplied; and, in consequence, the 
largest measure of his existence was spent in indolence and frivolous 
amusements. Such proportion of the family food as the chase did not 
supply was found in the cultivation of Indiancorn. The pride of awarrior 
scorned the performance of menial labor, and to the squaw was this 
drudgery, as well as that of the household, assigned. His general 
character has been much misunderstood and misrepresented. He 
was in fact possessed of great ingenuity, keen wit, and rare cun- 
ning. In the consideration of matters of public importance, his conduct 
was characterized by a grave dignity that was frequently almost ludi- 
crous. The studied stolidity of his countenance gave the spectator no 
clew to the inward bent of his feelings or determination. The anxious 
prisoner, from a watchful study of his face and actions, could read 
nothing of his probable fate. He was physically brave, and would 
without hesitancy attack the most dangerous beasts of the forests or 
his still more ferocious human enemies. In the hands of those enemies 
he would endure, with the most unflinching nerve, the cruelest tortures 
their ingenuity could devise, and at the same time chant his death 
song in the recital of his numerous personal acts of triumph over them. 

His methods of warfare were, however, very different from those 
which meet the approval of civilized nations. He could not understand 
that there was anything of merit in meeting his antagonist in the open 
field, where the chances of victory were nearly equal. It was a useless 
risk of his life, even though his numbers exceeded those of his enemy, to 
allow them to become advised of his approach. His movements were 
stealthy, and his blows fell at an unexpected moment from the hidden 
ambush or in the dead hours of the night. His nature was cruel, and 
in the excitement of battle that cruelty was clothed in the most ter- 
rible forms. He was in the highest degree vindictive, and his memory 
never lost sight of a personal injury. He was inclined to be credulous 
until once deceived, after which nothing could remove his jealous dis- 
trust. 

His confidence once fully secured, however, the unselfishness of his 
friendship as a rule would put to shame that of his more civilized 
Anglo-Saxon brother. His scrupulous honor in the payment of a just 
debt was of a character not always emulated among commercial nations. 
His noble qualities have not been granted the general recognition they 
deserve, and his ignoble traits have oftentimes been glossed over with 
the varnish of an unhealthy sentimentality.t 

For many years following his first contact with the whites the daily 





! William Bartram, who traveled through their country in 1776, says (Travels in 
North America, p. 483): ‘‘The Cherokees in their dispositions and manners are grave 
and steady, dignified and circumspect in their deportment; rather slow and reserved 
in conversation, yet frank, cheerful, and humane; tenacious of the liberties and nat- 
ural rights of man; secret, deliberate, and determined in their councils; honest, just, 
and liberal, and always ready to sacrifice every pleasure and gratification, even their 
blood and life itself, to defend their territory and maintain their rights.” 


ROYCE.] GENERAL REMARKS. 373 


life of the Cherokee underwent but little change. The remoteness of 
his villages from the coast settlements and the intervening territory of 
other tribes limited in large degree any frequency of association with 
his white neighbors. In spite of this restricted intercourse, however, 
the superior comforts and luxuries of civilization were early apparent 
to him. His new-found desires met with a ready supply through the 
enterprising cupidity of the fur traders. At the same time and through 
the same means he was brought to a knowledge of the uses and com- 
forts of calico and blankets, and the devastating though seductive in- 
fluence of spirituous liquors. Yet nothing occurred to mar the peace 
hitherto existing with his white neighbors until their continued spread 
and seemingly insatiate demand for more territory aroused a feeling of 
jealous fear in his bosom. This awakening to the perils of his situation 
was, unfortunately for him, too late. The strength of the invaders al- 
ready surpassed his own, and henceforth it was but a struggle against 
fate. Prior to the close of the Revolutionary war but little, if any- 
thing, had been done toward encouraging the Cherokee to adopt the 
customs and pursuits of civilized life. His native forests and streams 
had afforded him a sufficiency of flesh, fish, and skins to supply all his 
reasonable wants. Immediately upon the establishment of American 
Independence the policy to be pursued by the Government in its rela- 
tions with the Indian tribes became the subject of grave consideration. 
The necessity began to be apparent of teaching the proximate tribes 
to cultivate the soil as a substitute for the livelihood hitherto gained 
through the now rapidly diminishing supplies of game. In the report 
of the commissioners appointed to negotiate the treaty of 1785, being 
the first treaty concluded between the Cherokees and the United States, 
they remark that some compensation should be made to the Indians for 
certain of their lands unlawfully taken possession of by the whites, and 
that the sum so raised should be appropriated to the purpose of teach- 
ing them useful branches of mechanics. Furthermore, that some of 
their women had lately learned to spin, and many others were “very 
desirous that some method should be fallen on to teach them to raise 
flax, cotton, and wool, as well as to spin and weave it.” 

Six years later, in the conclusion of the second treaty with them, it was 
agreed, in order “that the Cherokee Nation may be led to a greater 
degree of civilization, and to become herdsmen and cultivators instead 
of remaining ina state of hunters, the United States will from time to 
time furnish gratuitously the said nation with useful implements of 
husbandry.” From this time forward the progress of the Cherokees in 
civilization and enlightenment was rapid and continuous.! They had 





‘Hon. J. C. Calhoun, Secretary of War, under date of March 29, 1824, in a com- 
munication addressed to the President to be laid before the United States Senate, 
alludes to the provision contained in the treaty of 1791 and says: ‘‘In conformity to 
the provisions of this article the various utensils of husbandry have been abundantly 
and constantly distributed to the Cherokee Nation, which has resulted in creating a 
taste for farming and the comforts of civilized life.” 


374 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


mmade such advancement that, nearly thirty years later,' Return J. 
Meigs, their long time agent and friend, represented to the Secretary of 
War that such Government assistance was no longer necessary or de- 
sirable; that the Cherokees were perfectly competent to take care of 
themselves, and that further contributions to their support only had 
a tendency to encourage idleness and dependence upon the Government. 

Their country was especially adapted to stock raising and their flocks 
and herds increased in proportion to the zeal and industry of their 
owners. The proceeds of their surplus cotton placed within reach most 
of the comforts and many of the luxuries of life. The unselfish devotion 
of the missionary societies had furnished them with religious and school 
instruction, of which they had in large numbers eagerly availed them- 
selves.2. From the crude tribal government of the eighteenth century 
they had gradually progressed until in the month of July, 1827, a conven- 
tion of duly elected delegates from the eight several districts into which 
their country was divided® assembled at New Echota, and announced 
that “We, the representatives of the people of the Cherokee Nation, in 
convention assembled, in order to establish justice, insure tranquillity, 
promote our common welfare, and secure to ourselves and our posterity 
the blessings of liberty, acknowledging with humility and gratitude the 
goodness of the sovereign Ruler of the Universe in offering us an op- 
portunity so favorable to the design and imploring His aid and diree- 
tion in its accomplishment, do ordain and establish this constitution for 
the government of the Cherokee Nation.” By the constitution thus 
adopted the power of the nation was divided into legislative, execu- 
tive, and judicial departments. The legislative power was vested in 
a committee and a council, each to have a negative on the other, and to- 
gether to be called the ‘General Council of the Cherokee Nation.” This 
committee consistcd of two and the council of three members from each 
district, and were to be elected biennially by the suffrages of all free 
male citizens (excepting negroes and descendants of white and Indian 
men by negro women who may have been set free) who had attained 
the age of eighteen years. Their sessions were annual, beginning on 
the second Monday in October. Persons of negro or mulatto blood 
were declared ineligible to official honors or emoluments. 

The executive power of the nation was confided to a principal chief, 





1 May 30, 1820. 
2Letter of Hon. J. C. Calhoun Secretary of War, March 29, 1824. In this letter 
Mr. Calhoun says: ‘‘Certain benevolent societies in the year 1816 applied for per- 
mission to make establishments among the Cherokees and other southern tribes, for 
the purpose of educating and instructing tkem in the arts of civilized life. Their ap- 
plication was favorably received, The experiment proved so favorable, that Congress, 
by act of March 3, 1819, appropriated $10,000 annually as a civilization fund, which 
has been applied in such a manner as very considerably to increase the extent and 
usefulness of the efforts of benevolent individuals and to advance the work of Indian 
civilization.” 

3 The eight districts into which the nation was at this time divided were, Chicka- 
manga, Chatooga, Coosawatee, Amohee, Hickory Log, Etowah, Taquoe, and Aquohee. 


ROYCE. ] GENERAL REMARKS. 375 


elected by the general council for a term of four years, and none but 
native born citizens were eligible to the office. The chief was required 
to visit each district of the nation at least once in two years, to keep 
himself familiarized with the condition and necessities of the country. 
His approval was also required to all laws, and, as in the case of our 
own Government, the exercise of the veto power could be overcome 
only by a two-thirds majority in both houses of the national legislature. 
An executive council of three members besides the assistant principal 
chief was also to be elected by the joint vote of the two houses for the 
period of one year. 

The judicial functions were vested in a supreme court of three judges 
and such circuit and inferior courts as the general council should from 
time to time prescribe, such judges to be elected by joint vote of the 
general council. 

Ministers of the gospel who by their profession were dedicated to 
the service of God and the care of souls, and who ought uot therefore 
to'be diverted from the great duty of their function, were, while en- 
gaged in such work, declared ineligible to the office of principal chief 
or to a seat in either house of the general council. Any person deny- 
ing the existence of a God or a future state of rewards and punishments 
was declared ineligible to hold any office in the civil department of the 
nation, and it was also set forth that (religiou, morality, and knowledge 
being necessary to good government, the preservation of liberty, and 
the happiness of mankind) schools and the means of education should 
forever be encouraged in the nation. 

Under this constitution elections were regularly held and the fune- 
tions of government administered until the year 1830, when the hostile 
legislation of Georgia practically paralyzed and suspended its fur- 
ther operation. Although forbidden to hold any more elections, the 
Cherokees maintained a semblance of their republican form of govern- 
ment by tacitly permitting their last elected officers to hold over and 
recognizing the authority and validity of their official actions. This 
embarrassing condition of affairs continued until their removal west of 
the Mississippi River, when, on the 6th of September, 1839, they, in con- 
junction with the “ Old Settlers,” adopted a new constitution, which in 
substance was a duplicate of its predecessor. 

This removal turned the Cherokees back in the calendar of progress 
and civilization at least a quarter of a century. The hardships and 
exposures of the journey, coupled with the fevers and malaria of a rad- 
ically different climate, cost the lives of perhaps 10 per cent. of their 
total population. The animosities and turbulence born of the treaty of 
1835 not only occasioned the loss of many lives, but rendered property 
insecure, and in consequence diminished the zeal and industry of the 
entire community in its accumulation. A brief period of comparative 
quiet, however, was again characterized by an advance toward a 
higher civilization. Five years after their removal we find from the 
report of their agent that they are again on the increase in popula- 


376 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS 


tion; that their houses, farms, and fixtures have greatly improved 
in the comforts of life; that in general they are living in double cabins 
and evincing an increasing disposition to provide for the future; that 
they have in operation eleven common schools, superintended by a na- 
tive Cherokee, in which are taught reading, writing, arithmetic, book- 
keeping, grammar, geography, and history, which are entirely supported 
at the expense of their own national funds, and which are attended by 
upwards of five hundred scholars; that the churches are largely at- 
tended and liberally supported, the Methodists having 1,400 communi- 
cants, the Baptists 750, and other denominations a smaller number ; 
that a national temperance society boasts of 1,752 members; that they 
maintain a printing press, from which publications are issued in both 
the English and Cherokee tongues; that some of them manifest a de- 
cided taste for general literature and a few have full and well selected 
libraries; that thousands of them can speak and write the English 
language with fluency and comparative accuracy; that hundreds can 
draw up contracts, deeds, and other instruments for the transfer of 
property, and that in the ordinary transactions of life, especially in 
making bargains, they are shrewd and intelligent, frequently evincing 
a remarkable degree of craft and combination ; that their treatment 
of their women had undergone a radical change ; that the countenanee 
and encouragement given to her cultivation disclosed a more exalted 
estimate of female character, and that instead of being regarded as a 
slave and a beast of burden she was now recognized as a friend and 
companion. 

Thus, with the exception of occasional drawbacks —the result of civil 
feuds—the progress of the nation in education, industry, and civiliza- 
tion continued until the outbreak of the rebellion. At this period, from 
the best attainable information, the Cherokees numbered twenty-one 
thousand souls. The events of the war brought to them more of desola- 
tion and ruin than perhaps to any other community. 

Raided and sacked alternately, not only by the Confederate and Union 
forces, but by the vindictive ferocity and hate of their own factional di- 
visions, their country became a blackened and desolate waste. Driven 
from comfortable homes, exposed to want, misery, and the elements, 
they perished like sheep in a snow storm. Their houses, fences, and 
other improvements were burned, their orchards destroyed, their flocks 
and herds slaughtered or driven off, their schools broken up, and their 
school-houses given to the flames, their churches and public buildings 
subjected to a similar fate, and that entire portion of their country 
which had been occupied by their settlements was distinguishable from 
the virgin prairie only by the scorched and blackened chimneys and 
the plowed but now neglected fields. 

The war over and the work of reconstruction commenced, found them 
numbering fourteen thousand impoverished, heart broken, and revenge- 
ful people. But they must work or starve, and in almost sullen despair 
they set about rebuilding their waste places. The situation was one 


ROYCE. ] GENERAL REMARKS. aCe 


caleulated to discourage men enjoying a higher degree of civilization 
than they had yet reached, but they bent to the task with a determina- 
tion and perseverance that could not fail to be the parent of success. 

To-day their country is more prosperous than ever. They number 
twenty-two thousand, a greater population than they have had at any 
previous period, except perhaps just prior to the date of the treaty of 1835, 
when those east added to those west of the Mississippi are stated to have 
aggregated nearly twenty-five thousand people.! To-day they have 
twenty-three hundred scholars attending seventy-five schools, estab- 
lished and supported by themselves at an annual expense to the nation 
of nearly $100,000. To-day thirteen thousand of their people can read 
and eighteen thousand can speak the English language. To-day five 
thousand brick, frame, and log houses are occupied by them, and 
they have sixty-four churches with a membership of several thousand. 
They cultivate a hundred thousand acres of land and have an additional 
one hundred and fifty thousand fenced. They raise annually 100,000 
bushels of wheat, 800,000 of corn, 100,000 of oats and barley, 27,500 of 
vegetables, 1,000,000 pounds of cotton, 500,000 pounds of butter, 12,000 
tons of hay, and saw a million feet of lumber. ‘They own 20,000 horses, 
15,000 mules, 200,000 cattle, 100,000 swine, and 12,000 sheep. 

They have 2 constitutional form of government predicated upon that 
of the United States. As a rule, their laws are wise and beneficent 
and are enforced with strictness and justice. Political and social preju- 
dice has deprived the former slaves in some instances of the full meas- 
ure of rights guaranteed to them by the treaty of 1866 and the amended 
constitution of the nation, but time is rapidly softening these asperities 
and will solve all difficulties of the situation. 

The present Cherokee population is of a composite character. Rem- 
nants of other nations or tribes have from time to time been absorbed 
and admitted to full participation in the benefits of Cherokee citizen- 
ship. The various classes may be ihus enumerated : 

1. The full blood Cherokees. 

The mixed blood Cherokees. 

The Delawares. 

The Shawnees. 

White men and women intermarried with the foregoing. 

). A few Creeks who broke away from their own tribe and have been 
citizens of the Cherokee Nation for many years. 


gu ge be 


~ 





i The census of the nation east of the Mississippi, taken in 1835, exhibited the fol- 
lowing facts: 








Whites 
‘ Ra intermar- 
Cherokees.| Slaves. ried with | Total. 
Cherokees. | 

PT RON Cnt s bene te warden wine’ =p oe cleiwnrcls ossicles 8, 946 | 776 68 9, 790 
In North Carolina = 3, 644 | 37 22 3, 703 
In Tennessee .--..-- ee 2, 528 480 79 3, 087 
In Alabama ........ 1,424 | 299 32 1,755 

















JAS 5 HEA PG aN Senn SOS ODOC SEI CE aceeerIog 16, 542 1, 592 201 | 18, 335 





378 CHEROKEE NATION OF INDIANS. 


7. A few Creeks who are not citizens, but have taken up their abode 
in the Cherokee country, without any rights. 

8. A remnant of the Natchez tribe, who are citizens. 

9. The freedmen adopted under the treaty of 1866. 

10. Freedmen not adopted, but not removed as intruders, owing to an 
order from the Indian Department forbidding such removal pending a 
decision upon their claims to citizenship. 

If the Government of the United States shall in this last resort of the 
Cherokees prove faithful to its obligations and maintain their country 
inviolate from the intrusions of white trespassers, the future of the na- 
tion will surely prove the capability of the American Indian under 
favorable conditions to realize in a high degree the possibilities of 
Anglo-Saxon civilization. 


Table showing approximately the area in square miles and acres ceded to the United States 
by the various treaties with the Cherokee Nation. 





| Area 































































Date of treaty. | State where ceded lands are located. |insquare| “T° 2 
miles. LIONS 
— [ea ee 
SET DL ipers te teeta etm mw ee st 2, 623 1, 678, 720 
November 24, 1755 -|--:---do 8, 635 5, 526, 400 
Octobert4 W768 —- saan see ae een | 850 544, 000 
(| a lo 4, 500 2, 880, 000 
HAnA ne i Sta VACONI aaa aera es essere ee ee 4, 300 2, 752, 000 
October resecectsece ese ser \ ETT Ees eee een a ea 150 96, 000 
Ui) Bren te kay <4 oor cte mate na te so ee 250 160, 000 
asec; i) ehetne steScoseeececoce te sgasooeds 10, 185 6, 486, 400 
MPD pase coponcHACODaNnSH sono osmoodct | Wiest iWon gine soecm cea niaime einem iaeleaiac 437 279, 680 
AIG hat re ose So cond oko oCenonassSaseo ses 345 220, 800 
Ghote ty Bisco sancer mo seSescosenesoe LEGO HST CSP RERE boscb aono syooconesosiosoes 1, 050 672, 000 
6 LG WIG 19 (oe ss Sean oecoa soos oe oeScos 22,600 | 14, 464, 000 
Marcher te uit ieec ale uiecaticee seiner coll Wabeertitt tmensocnee sSacoqsoScracee academe 1, 800 i 152, 000 
Ulennessea =i oo senecsectecun ve ceetens 2,650 | 1, 696, 000 
BW ES APN UTE Sspecorecoconma—oaps oases South Carolina....-.....- EE SSP ere 2, 051 1, 312, 640 
SOYA EGG) iG North: Garolinamssscce sas = semen ce eee 4,414 = 824, 960 
Tuly 20, 1777 ..---.---2--22--2------- 9) PRennéssee:ssc-5'- secant ecenae seco eee een 1, 760 

Maivad Ll(83 nan aeeeanaealeanetaai =n | (Cee fark oo sa55 ps Sos tees sess esss S25: 1, 650 0 
North Carolina) == --= cs <ae\n==5—=)-= 550 "352, 000 
November28) UT8or-scce secon == MenneOssC@ sa alee emails aoa eee a 4,914 3, 144, 960 
| Kentucky... 917 586, 880 
<j §| Tennessee 3, 485 2, 198, 400 
UT Bh EB Moco eee cose sooace ac 2) North Caro 722 462) 080 
9.47 §| Tennessee ---- 952 609, 280 
October 2, 1798 ? North Carolina 587 375, 680 
October 24, 1804 . Georgia... 135 86, 400 
or - Kentucky - 1, 086 695, 040 

* 9 , , 

Ofer rodsteie 2a) SM Tennessee -- 7,032 | 4,500) 480 
October27a 18055 ep sedan canes eet een ee (Ree A Ar aSeeeen cocromannee 13 800 
ae = 1800 fil |eoa tse dow. 5, 269 3, 372, 160 
CERES th BA pccoegehossuneshsso: 2| Alabama. "| 1602} 1,025, 280 
WE en ORT eenoasesbocmecsiesscoe | South Carolinas ss-pocc sees ee eeaees 2 148 94, 720 
< ze S| AS UE Bieter eles aietlnreele eet retee “ 3, 229 2, 194, 560 
Sepuemiber 1491816 eo ae PlEMigsiseip pic ae as. seee eee ; 4 2 560 
L = Sil NG Coneiassce neces oneemcee pce 583 373, 120 
SUL ys S pS 2 oa one-man mann =2)9) Ton GauOOlieee dans eens sees 435 278) 400 
{| (Georgia: - sec cose cere eeeae as 837 535, 680 
5 7 iL CAlabaimaeess cce mentee eats 1, 154 738, 560 
February 27, 1819.....--.----------- )i (@Lennessee s--c~- coSeecises ones 2,408 1, 541, 120 
(| Notth Carolina 2-2-222 .----=---- 1, 542 986, 880 
Mary 6.1828 See ner arama nate ote aii as |) Aiskansae!o some = tate ain 4,720 3, 020, 800 
| Mennesse@len---— see eae wate an 1, 484 949, 760 
2 Bae on Georpiaerececcos seme nneees 7, 202 4, 609, 280 
WISHSWA NE A) ID coo sssoseosoaes AlpDamar <22ccse.<dhes Seance 21518 | 1, 611, 520 
| North Garolinaiese-seeeeasee a 1, 112 711, 680 
Osby Ney SRR eeoas cAonconco toa czceee | Angas os. -ascccscewnnccns pedesenomeeee b1, 928 1, 233, 920 
Totals see cs ss eee eee | c55 upcaseseeccsSeusuuase Seat: oheemeteeae 126, 9063) 81, 220, 374 











aIn addition there was ceded by this tre aty for the location of other Indian tribes all the Cherokee 
domain in Indian Territory lying west of 96°, containing by actual survey 8,144,772.35 acres or 12,726 
square miles. 

b And a fractional square mile comprising 374 acres. 











SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION——BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY. 





THE MOUNTAIN CHANT: 
A NAVAJO CEREMONY. 


BY 


Dr WAS LEN GLO N WVEATE TE ELELW'S; Ul S. Av 








379 


CONTENTS. 


Page. 

JOr a EGA) Me 28 oo Becca ne Seno Anco OSS OT BSE E AST Soe RO ROO DEEP SerrpHaaee 385 
Mythonihe orpiniondsilyidje qagal < 222s va2sscasq-ceecnsciccuccasccceccecces ae 387 
Ceremonies On dail yidy} ei qacali--2- -ccems-n-stacceeeececcss caeaceccocense sca cece 418 
iret OUMO SY Seana aclosemate omen nore seat sa(cisisiaesaciee en[be ca weeciceociccesce 418 
Fifth day ........-.. SOSCO0 Coc onHarmocnc bss SSac SQensSosno cose rCECeenebese 419 
TRING Eee Gan pace ser Gs SHEC RE Be aaa C Raa ea pccoR neces eS seen Nee 424 
BOVOntlNO Rianne maalon sonata ale colon swiee siete Sais deiciejonan enone ees an eecaiccse 428 


ELD GP97 ootoncsdecs cosbc bonds -obste co aODS SaaS Denne eceacEersseseseane a2) 
Nai ihinad eye (Oni ANS) eotmnlen sete ana satcccee cece see eeaceieces stan seec, 490 
HIBS GMD saci Sa caee S255 concer aeoesosde bonnes ESTO meee pecansasep Boones, Ui 


TRIO aNGe | GOANTCAN) ieee ees cneeee aman sce sn loses tececs eae = 432 
Second dance (great plumed arrow)....-. .----.--2--- eoe--e enone enn 433 
Rbrrdicnnceponsaas nas loncecictr soa ot aaecere esa cesise ete sees sos seen 435 
DOT TG ETS) Scesenes5 tsp cc OS Lor Snes0 OH acr Cee Sa Sheree Ra ee saeOenes 436 
Rei ANC OMAN Weeecaiencete ee ce Sen penne csececsne cscs conc owee 437 
MIXinxGance (StAndINO ALCS) <oseocaee wea Soc sce Sen cacccsiescewe cécese 437 
SEN GH. GET OR on 85 CoS 6c CCS SU CS DEED TW SSOEOEO CEOS SSIES OED e SOAS Ere 438 
Piphiivd ance) (ISIN PIRNM)ierse soe a aneeeaewonlece en ifa- meee Soecisccees 43 
Ninthidance (Hoshkaw, Or Yuced))<-c.cls-2-- sens ess sce coaceoeeee 439 
MEN aNCOl (DEAD) maemaantesecin stat a anislaiciane saicisiajoa™ syne see ses eeeiees 441 
leven Ch dance} (GiNO) aca mssa-vcesscasseelsse sce ccoessiecdnJsceseces cane 441 
ihe antes tecmsseeeat ae cee arena keen sane toes deckiton on cance te 443 
The great: pietures|/of dailyidje qacal ..o-2-<.s.2s.(ecosos'---cecececce cans cccoes 44 
First picture (home of the serpents) .-.-....-+.----.---2+ e200 ---- 22-2 eee 446 
Second picture (yays and cultivated plants) ---..--...........--.---..2-- 447 
MT Al picture One NOUIOS) semsisscene occ s sec seias ees saesisenmsseceecasces 450 
Fourth picture (great plumed arrows) ...-...-- 1... 22--2- s200 2-2. eee none 451 
RAGUICEsOMOnyidjeGACWlancees eaten ne wloeee ae cee clea cenesssaneaaee. 451 
Original texts and translations of songs, &c.........-....-------------2 2222+ 455 
SHS GE RTGS =o nooo coco Seen con cos Steak SO SS OnOEEO ESOS ECOORe BeCOEEeE 455 
First Song of the First Dancers ............---. 2222+ -----+.--2 ---- - 456 
First Song of the Mountain Sheep -............-.....-.-.---.-------. 457 
Sixth Song of the Mountain Sheep-........-.....-.....2------------- 457 
Twelfth Song of the Mountain Sheep ...-..............2-------22.2-- 458 
erst) SOT Otte MN UN Olen ec ase emer s see oa eons aac ce chess cc. 458 
PLWeltel NOUuprIOn GHoPnnUNG elecentceess sees cloacae alc eeocsce5~co53 459 
First Song of the Holy Young Men, or Young Men Gods ...--.-....... 459 
Sixth Song of the Holy Young Mon. - 2. -52--. sce. ccccee ceneee cess 460 
Twelfth Song of the Holy Young Men..........-.....-....... sodeeece 460 
Eighth Song of the Young Women who Become Bears....-.........-- 461 
Groton iherAw lL pONos maccaestnana nena peeaeeatens <n catoceee ce 461 
First Song of the Exploding Stick ....... 2.2.2 ..22.. 2022-0 .---2000e- 462 
Last Song of the Exploding Stick ...............-.....------------- 462 
Tet OES ANSI SO ie = S65 pase pce Sco5 bobo be eer CUS CO SHOE SEES EI eCae 463 
LS LD AN ELS SO ee Case oe coat 36056 SoORE EC SE CO COL ene See pEreEre 463 


382 CONTENTS. 


Original texts and translations of songs— Continued. : Page. 
Other’songs’ and extracts (sem os )s <email a 464 
Song of the Prophet to the San Juan River ...-....2.--..------------ ~ 464 

Song of the Building of the Dark Circle..........--------2+---+-+--+- “4G4 

Prayer toy Dsilyis Ney ani serpats a a rere te tele ete alte ate eet ole ete leteete=eeate atone 465 

Song of the Rising Sun Dance------. oo eee ere ene wenn 465 
Instructions given to the akaninili ........ 222. 22. 2225 225 - cee e ne saee 466 

Prayer of the Prophet to) his: Mask =~ 2-52 2 2-= sects sie=e-e ere ae = 466 

Last Words of the Prophet .........-...--. jaseececeste ea selecaesere ee 467 


NOTE ON THE ORTHOGRAPHY OF NAVAJO WORDS. 


The spelling of Navajo words in this paper is in accordance with the alphabet of 
the Bureau of Ethnology: 

e=ch in chin; ¢=th in this; ¢=th in think; j=z in azure; q=German ch in 
machen; ‘shows that a vowel is aspirated ; the vowels have the continental sounds; 
ai is the only diphthong, and is likei in line; lis usually aspirated; the other letters 
have the ordinary English pronunciation. 





ILE USTRATIONS 


PLATE X. Medicine lodge, viewed from the south...........-.-----...-..-. 
XI. Medicine lodge, viewed from the east ........-..----.-----.---- 
DAN CO tOnn AUK ale nee se seem an nes SEN Seer aesie mises se cisece) nase 

PUT PALE OC Oise tre seis wiecie aie emai iania= Ae eaeinas ee asioeec es ce nieeSeieels 

XIV. The dark circle of branches at sunrise. .... -..--.=----+-+--<----- 

RSV CUKT STO ya ATI Dre ecw seni see oo el aineas Soci cae eee nee 

ODE SSC Ms tives EMM OSs oso Ssh GaSe ODORS ESEEEe Se See eeeeeecee 

XVII. Third dry painting.......-.-.- noiciie acSgo ma LEQne aes BEE eos nade 
MVM sHourih Gny Wai oon secs on sae. Sas cee Soe once siecsidececcaaee 
Figure 50. Qastcéél¢i, from a dry painting of the klédji-qagal.....-.....---- 


51, The ¢obolea, or plumed wands, as seen from the door of the medi- 
CHUGHLOM PG rae ere eae te aioe tads ereeye Poet Se eicve oe Ree 

DZ PARAD EN ere ad yt OL tne JOURN OY 25.222 - mre tcin an atte wie eel ee eects 
Bae MLV ERe rT Oa Lf Ol Eos aro dane CSc COO OS OCB S eSB aAS SAR Eee are 

- 54. Dancer holding up the great plumed arrow -....-...----.-.----- 
55. Dancer “swallowing” the great plumed arrow.---....---------- 
56, Lhe whizzer, orproamning® StICk =~ --)-<cenns neo clececesience ooo e 
DUA YMC CA DACC Mia eee cease ammae soe asec eicicee.csce cas ehee 
Demsaeniticnal aticks Gkecan) 2-2. acen eco nce ca coscciccoce scenes aces 
59. The talking kethawn (kegan-yalgi‘)-.........----.----. --------- 


7! 





THE MOUNTAIN CHANT: A NAVAJO CEREMONY. 


By Dr. WASHINGTON MATTHEWS, U. S. A. 


INTRODUCTION. 


1. The ceremouy of dsilyidje qacal, or mountain chant — literally, chant 
towards (a place) within the mountains —is one of a large number prac- 
ticed by the shamans, or medicine men, of the Navajo tribe. I have 
selected it as the first of those to be described, because I have wit- 
nessed it the most frequeutly, because it is the most interesting to the 
Caucasian spectator, and because it is the best known to the whites who 
visit and reside in and around the Navajo country. Its chief interest to 
the stranger lies in the various public performances of the last night. 
Like other great rites of the shamans, it has its secret ceremonies of 
many days’ duration in the medicine lodge; but, unlike the others, it 
ends with a varied show in the open air, which all are invited to witness. 
Another ceremony which I have attended, and which the whites usually 
call the “ Yaybichy Dance” (Yébiteai), has a final public exhibition 
which occupies the whole night, but it is unvaried. Few Europeans 
can be found who have remained awake later than midnight to watch 
it. Such is not the case with the rite now to be described. Here the 
white man is rarely the first to leave at dawn. 

2. The appropriateness of the name dsilyidje or tsilgitee — towards (a 
place) within the mountains — will be better understood from the myth 
than from any brief description. ‘‘ Dsilyi‘” may well allude to mountains 
in general or to the Carrizo Mountains in particular, to the place in the 
mountains (paragraphs 9 and 38) where the origfnator of these cere- 
monies (whom I often find it convenient to call “ prophet”) dwelt, or to 
the name of the prophet (par. 41), or to all these combined. Qacal signifies 
a sacred song or a collection of sacred songs. From the many English 
synonyms for song I have selected the word chaut to translate qacal. 
ln its usual signification hymnody may be its more exact equivalent, 
but it isa less convenient term than chant. The shaman, or medicine 
man, who is master of ceremonies, is known as qagali or chanter—el 
cantador, the Mexicans callhim. In order to keep in mind his relation- 
ship to similar functionaries in other tribes I shall, from time to time, 
allude to him as the priest, the shaman, or the medicine man, following 

5 ETH——25 


385 


386 THE MOUNTAIN CHANT. 


the example of other authors. To all ceremonies of a character similar 
to this the term qagal is applicable. It would seem from this that the 
Navajo regard the song as the chief part of the ceremony, but since 
the Americans, as arule, regard all Indian ceremonies as merely dances 
and call them dances, I will, out of deference to a national prejudice, 
frequently refer to the ceremony as a dance. 

3. Sometimes the collective rites and amusements of the last night 
are spoken of as ilnasjingo qagal, or chant in the dark circle of 
branches, from il, branches of a tree; nas, surrounding, encircling; 
jin, dark; and go,in. The name alludes to the great fence of pinon 
branches, erected after sunset on the last night, to receive the guests 
and performers. I shall often refer to this inclosure as the corral. Some 
white men call the rites I describe the ‘corral dance,” but more usually 
they call them the “ hoshkawn dance,” from one of the minor perform- 
ances of the last night, the hackan-inga‘, or act of the Yucca baccata, 
a rite or drama which seems to particularly excite the Caucasian interest. 
To such minor acts the terms inga‘ and alili are applied; these may be 
translated dance, show, act, or exhibition. 

4, The purposes of the ceremony are various. Its ostensible reason 
for existence is to cure disease; but it is made the occasion for invok- 
ing the unseen powers in behalf of the people at large for various pur- 
poses, particularly for good crops and abundant rains. It would ap- 
pear that it is also designed to perpetuate their religious symbolism. 
Some of the shows of the last night are undoubtedly intended to be 
dramatic and entertaining as well as religious, while the merely social 
element of the whole affair is obvious. It is an occasion when the peo- 
ple gather to have a jolly time. The patient pays the expenses and, 
probably in addition to the favor and help of the gods and the praise 
of the priesthood, hopes to obtain social distinction for his liberality. 

5. This, like other great rites of the Navajo, is of nine days’ duration. 
Some of these rites may take place in the summer; but the great ma- 
jority of them, including this dsilyidje qagal, may be celebrated only 
in the winter, in the season when the thunder is silent and the rattle- 
snakes are hibernating. Were they to tell of their chief gods or relate 
their myths of the ancient days at any other time, death from lightning 
or snake-bite would, they believe, be their early fate. 

6. While in New Mexico I sometimes employed a very liberal minded 
Navajo, named Juan, as a guide and informant. He had spent many 
years among Americans, Mormons, and Mexicans, and was, I imagined, 
almost perfectly emancipated from his ‘early bias.” He spoke both 
English and Spanish fairly. On one oceasion, during the monthof Au- 
gust, inthe height of the rainy season, I had him in my study convers- 
ing with him. In an unguarded moment, on his part, I led him into a 
discussion about the gods of his people, and neither of us had noticed 
a heavy storm coming over the crest of the Zuni Mountains, close by. 
We were just talking of Estsanatlehi, the goddess of the west, when 





MATTHEWS.] MYTII OF DSILYIDJE QACAL. 387 


the house was shaken by a terrific peal of thunder. He rose at once, 
pale and evidently agitated, and, whispering hoarsely, “Wait till Christ- 
mas; they are angry,” he hurried away. lUhave seen many such evi- 
dences of the deep influence of this superstition on them. 

7. When the man (or the woman) who gives the entertainment con- 
cludes he is sick and that he can afford to call a shaman, it is not the 
latter who decides what particular rites are best suited to cure the 
malady. Itis the patient and his friends who determine this. Then 
they send for a man who is known to be skilled in performing the 
desired rites, and it is his province merely to do the work required of 
him. : 

8. Before beginning to describe the ceremonies it will be well to relate 
the myth accounting for their origin. 


MYTH OF THE ORIGIN OF DSILYIDJE QACAL. 


9. Many years ago, in the neighborhood of Dsilyi‘-qojoni, in the Car- 
rizo Mountains, dwelt a family of six: the father, the mother, two sons, 
and two daughters. They did not live all the time in one locality, but 
moved from place to place in the neighborhood. The young men hunted 
rabbits and wood rats, for it was on such small animals that they all sub- 
sisted. The girls spent their time gathering various wild edible seeds. 

10. After a time they went to a place called Tse‘-bicai (the Wings of 
the Rock or Winged Rock), which lies to the east of the Carrizo Mount- 
ains, on a plain. When they first encamped there was no water in the 
vicinity and the elder brother went out to see if he could find some. 
He observed from the camp a little sandy hillock, covered with some 
vegetation, and he determined to see what sort of plants grew there. 
Arrived there, he noticed a spot where the ground was moist. He got 
his digging stick and proceeded to make a hole in the ground. He had 
not dug long when the water suddenly burst forth in great abundance 
and soon filled the excavation he had made. He hastened back to the 
camp and announced his success. When they left the Carrizo Mount- 
ains it was their intention to go to (epéntsa, the La Plata Mountains, to 
hunt for food, and their halt at Tse‘-bicai was designed to be tempo- 
rary only; but, now that they had found abundance of water, the elder 
brother counseled them not to hasten on, but to remain where they were 
for a while. The spring he developed still exists and is known to the 
Navajo as Cobinakis, or the One-Eyed Water. 

11. The spring was some distance from the camp, and they had but 
one wicker water bottle; so the woman, to lighten her labor, proposed 
that they should move their goods to the vicinity of the spring, as it 
was her task to draw the water. But the old man counseled that they 
should remain where they were, as materials for building were close at 
hand and it was his duty to erect the hut. They argued long about it; 
but at length the woman prevailed, and they carried all their property 


388 THE MOUNTAIN CHANT. 


down close to the spring. The elder son suggested that it would be 
well to dig into the soft sandy soil, in order to have a good shelter; so 
the old man selected a sandy hillock, overgrown with grease-wood, and 
excavated it near one edge, digging straight down, so as to have a wall 
on one side. 

12. They had a stone ax-head, with a groove init. Around this they 
bent a flexible twig of oak and tied it with the fibers of the yucea, and 
thus they made a handle. The first day after the spring was found the 
young men went out and chopped all day, and in the evening brought 
home four poles, and while they were gone the old man dug in the hill- 
ock. The next day the young men chopped all day, and at night re- 
turned with four more poles, while their father continued his digging. 
They worked thus for four days, and the lodge was finished. They made 
mats of hay to lie on and a mat of the same material to hang in the 
doorway. They made mats of fine cedar bark with which to cover them- 
selves in bed, for in those days the Navajo did not weave blankets such 
as they make now. ‘The soles of their moccasins were made of hay and 
the uppers of yucca fibers. The young men were obliged to go hunting 
every day; it was only with great labor they could keep the house 
supplied with meat; for, as has been said, they lived mostly on small 
animals, such as could be caught in fall traps, These traps they set at 
night near the burrows, and they slept close to the traps when the lat- 
ter were set far from home. They hunted thus for four days after the 
house was finished, while their sisters scoured all the country round in 
search of seeds. 

13. With all their work they found it hard to make a living in this 
place. The land was barren; even rats and prairie dogs were scarce, 
and the seed bearing plants were few. At the end of the fourth day 
they held a consultation, and the old man said they would do better to 
move on to the San Juan River, where food was more abundant, and 
they could trap and gather seeds as they traveled. They determined 
to leave, and next morning broke camp. They journeyed on till they 
reached the banks of the San Juan. Here they found abundance of 
teiltcin (fruit of Rhus aromatica) and of grass seeds, and they encamped 
beside the river at night. : 

14. Next day they traveled up the stream to a place called Tse‘eqaka, 
and here again they halted for the night. This place is noted for its 
deposits of native salt. The travelers cut some out from under a great 
rock and filled with it their bags, made out of the skins of the squirrels 
and other small animals which they had captured. Thence they fol- 
lowed up the river to Tse‘¢eza‘ (Rock Sticking Up), and thence to 
Cisya-qojoni (Beautiful Under the Cottonwoods), where they remained a 
day and killed two rabbits. These they skinned, disemboweled, crushed 
between two stones, bones and all, so that nothing might be lost, put 
them into an earthen pot to boil, and when they were sufficiently cooked 
they added some powdered seeds to make a thick soup; of all this they 


MATTHEWS. ] MYTH: THE JOURNEY TO GEPENTSA. 389 


made a hearty meal. The Navajo then had neither horses nor asses; 
they could not carry stone metates when they traveled, as they do now; 
they ground their seeds with such stones as they could find anywhere. 
The old man advised that they should cross the river at this point and 
he directed his sons to go to the river and look fora ford. After a time 
they returned and related that they had found a place where the stream 
was mostly knee deep, and where, in the deepest part, it did not come 
above their hips, and they thought all would be able to cross there. The 
father named the hour of bihilgdhigi (when it gets warm, i. e., about 10 
a. m.), on the morrow, as the time they should ford the San Juan; so 
next morning at the appointed time they crossed. They traveled up 
the north bank until they came to a small affluent whose source was in 
(epéntsa. Here they left the main river and followed the branch until 
night approached, when they made camp. 

15. They moved on next day and came close to Gepéntsa, to a soil 
covered with tracks of deer and of other great animals of the chase. 
Here they encamped, and on the following morning the young men set 
out by different ways in the direction of the mountain to hunt; but at 
night they returned empty handed. Thus they hunted four days unsuc- 
cessfully. Every day while his sons were gone the old man busied him- 
self cutting down saplings with his stone ax and building a house, and 
the daughters gathered seeds, which constituted the only food of the 
family. As the saplings were abundant and close to the camp, the old 
man built his house fast, and had it finished at nightfall on the fourth 
day, when his sons returned from their fruitless labors, They entered 
the lodge and sat down. They were weary and hungry and their bodies 
were badly torn by the thorns and thick copse of the mountains. Their 
father spoke not a word to them as they entered; he did not even look 
at them; he seemed to be lost in deep contemplation; so the young 
men said nothing, and all were silent. At length the old man looked 
up and broke the silence, saying, “Aqalani cactcini!” (Welcome, my 
children.) ‘Again you have returned to the lodge without food. What 
does it avail that you go out every day to hunt when you bring home 
nothing? You kill nothing because you know nothing. If you had 
knowledge you would be successful. I pity you.” The young men made 
no reply, but lay down and went to sleep. 

16. At dawn the old man woke them and said: ‘ Go out, my children, 
and build a sweat-house, and make a fire to heat stones for the bath, 
and build the sweat-house only as I will tell you. Make the frame of 
four different kinds of wood. Put kag (juniper) in the east, tse‘iscazi 
(mountain mahogany) in the south, ¢estsi™ (pinon) in the west, and 
awétsal (cliff rose) in the north; join them together at the top and cover 
them with any shrubs you choose. Get two small forked sticks, the 
length of the forearm, to pass the hot stones into the sweat-house, and 
one long stick to poke the stones out of the fire, and let all these sticks 
be such as have their bark abraded by the antlers of the deer. Take 


390 THE MOUNTAIN CHANT. 


of al! the plants on which the deer most like to browse and spread them 
on the floor of the sweat-house, that we may sit on them.” So they 
built the lodge as he directed, and lit the fire and heated the stones. 
While they were transferring the hot stones from the fire to the lodge 
the old man brought out the mats which they used for bedding, and 
when all the stones had been put in he hung the mats, one on top of 
another, over the doorway. This done the three men went into the 
sudatory and sat down tosweat, uttering not a word. When they had 
perspired sufficiently they came out and sat down in silence until they 
were again ready te submit themselves to the heat. In this way they 
sweated themselves four times, keeping all the time a perfect silence, 
until they emerged for the last time, when the old man directed his 
daughters to dig some soap root and make a lather. In this he bade 
his sons wash their hair and the entire surface of their bodies well. 
When they were thoroughly cleansed, he sent them out to set twelve 
stone fall traps, a task which occupied all the rest of the day. For 
each trap they buried a flat stone with its upper side on a level with 
the surface of the ground; on this they sprinkled a little earth, so 
that the rat would suspect nothing; over this they placed another 
flat stone, leaning at an angle and supported by a slender stick, to 
which were attached berries of the aromatic sumae as a bait. That 
night the young men sat up very late talking with their father, and 
did not lie down to sleep until after midnight, when, as their father 
directed, they lay side by side with their heads to the east. 

17. The elder brother arose early, stirred the embers and made a fire, 
and soon the younger awoke. As they sat by the fire warming thein- 
selves, the elder one said: “ Younger brother, I had a dream in the 
night; I dreamt I killed a buck deer.” And the younger replied: 
« Elder brother, I, too, had such a dream, but that which I killed was a 
doe.” The old man heard their words and rose, saying, ‘‘It is well, my 
children; go out and try again.” They went out to visit their traps. 
The first one they came to had fallen; they lifted the stone and found 
under it the body of a rat. So each one in turn, as they visited it was 
found to have fallen, ktlling in its fall some small animal; and they re- 
turned to the lodge with twelve little creatures for their food. Then 
the old man told them to take their bows and arrows and hant for deer. 
“ Tunt,” said he, ‘to the east, the west, and the north, if you will, but 
do not pass to the south of the lodge.” With these instructions they 
set out, each one in a different direction. The elder brother had not 
traveled far when he saw a herd of deer and shot one of the number. 
He skinned it, eut it up, took the backbone, hide, and tallow, and hung 
the rest in a tree. As he drew near the house, he saw his younger 
brother approaching from a different direction with the hide and meat 
of a doe. When they entered the hut, the old man asked which of 
the two deer was shot first. The elder brother answered: ‘1 think 
mine was, for I killed it early this morning, soon after I left the house.” 





MATTHEWS.| MYTH: THE MYSTERIES OF THE DEER HUNT. 391 


‘© Well,” said the father, ‘‘this skin of the first slain is mine; go and 
stretch it and dry it for me with care.” After this they went out hunt- 
ing every day for twelve days, but fortune seemed to have deserted 
them; they killed no more game; and at the end of that time their sup- 
ply of meat was exhausted. Then the old man said: “It always takes 
four trials before you succeed. Go out once more, and if you kill a 
deer do not dress it, but leave it as it is.” 

18. On the following day they left the lodge together and did not 
take separate trails. Soon they killed a deer, and the younger brother 
said: “ What shall we now do with it, since our father has told us not 
to skin it and not to cut it up?” The elder brother said: “ I know not. 
Return to the lodge and ask our father what we must do.” Then the 
younger brother returned to his father and the latter instructed him 
thus: “Cut the skin around the neck; then carefully take the skin from 
the head, so as to remove the horns, ears, and all other parts, without 
tearing the skin anywhere. Leave such an amount of flesh with the 
nose and lips that they will not shrivel and lose their shape when they 
dry. Then take the skin from the body, which skin will again be mine, 
One of you must take out the pluck and carry that in the hide to me; 
the other will bring the skin of the head and the meat. Let him who 
bears the pluck come in advance, and stop not till he comes directly to 
me, and he must hand it to me and to no one else.” The younger brother 
went back and told all this to the elder. They dressed the deer as they 
were bidden; the younger put the pluck in the skin and went in ad- 
vance, and the elder followed with the venison and the skin of the head. 
When they reached the hogan, the father said: *‘ Where is the ateai?” 
(pluck) and the younger said: “It is in the skin.” “Take it out,” 
said the old man, ‘and hang it on yonder mountain mahogany.” The 
young man did as he was bidden. The father advanced with his bow 
and arrow and handed them to the elder brother, who placed the arrow 
on the string and held the bow. The old man put his hands on top of 
those of his son and together they drew the bow. The former took 
careful aim at the pluck and let the arrow fly. It struck the object 
and penetrated both heart and lungs so far that the point protruded on 
the opposite side. Then the old man told his son to seize the arrow by 
the point and draw it completely through, which was done. Next he 
made his son stand close to the pluck, looking towards it, and while his 
son was in this position he blew on him in the direction of the pluck. 
“ Now,” said the father, ‘‘ whenever you want to kill a buck, even if 
there is neither track nor sign of deer in sight, you have only to shoot 
into the tse‘isgazi (mountain mahogany, Cercocarpus parvifolius) and you 
will find a dead deer where your arrow strikes ; while if you wish to kill 
a female deer you will shoot your arrow into the awetsal (cliff rose, 
Cowania mexicana) and you will find a doe there.” When all this was 
done they prepared the skin of the head, under the old man’s directions. 
To keep the skin of the neck open they put into it a wooden hoop. 


392 THE MOUNTAIN CHANT. 


They sewed up the mouth, left the eyeholes open, stuffed the skin with 
hay,and hungit ina tree to dry, where it would not get smoky or dusty. 
They eut places in the neck through which the hunter might see. The 
skin of the doe which the younger brother had killed some time before, 
and which had been tanned in the mean time, they painted red and gray, 
to make it look like the skin of an antelope. They prepared two short 
sticks, about the length of the forearm; these were to enable the hunter 
to move with ease and hold his head at the proper height when he crept 
in disguise on the deer. During the next four days no work was done, 
except that the elder brother practiced in imitating the walk of the 
deer. 

19. From the camp where these things happened they moved to a 
place called Tse“lakai-ia‘ (White Standing Rock). Before they went to 
hunt or gather seeds, the old man desired that they should all help to 
build the hogan (hut); so all went to work together, men and women, 
and the hogan was completed, inside and outside, in four days. 

20. The morning following the completion of the hogan, the father 
sent the young men out again, directing them, as before, not to go to 
the south. They went off together, and soon espied a herd of deer. 
The elder brother put on the deer mask and began to imitate the mo- 
tions of the animal, asking his younger brother what he thought of the 
mimicry. When the latter gave his approval, the elder brother said, 
“Steal round to the other side of the herd and when they see you they 
will come in my direction.” He waited, and when he saw that his 
brother had got to the other side of the herd, he selected a big fat buck 
as his special object, and began to move towards him, walking and 
pawing the ground like a deer, and rubbing his antlers against the 
trees. Soon the buck began to approach the hunter, but the latter kept 
his head constantly turned toward the deer the better to maintain his 
disguise. Presently the buck came quite close to the Indian, when the 
latter sped his arrow and brought the quarry down. They carried the 
meat home and the old man demanded that the meat and skin should 
all be his in payment for his advice. This was the third time he had 
advised them and the third time he had received a gift for his service. 
He directed that the meat should be cut into pieces and hung in the 
trees to dry, and that the skin should bestretched and dried for his bed. 

21. Next day the elder brother desired the younger to stay at home, 
saying that he would like to huntalone. As usual, the old man warned 
him against the south and directed him to hunt in the country north of 
the hogan. He set out, accordingly, to the north; but he returned at 
night without any game. Again on the following morning he set out 
alone, and this time went to the west, as his father had directed. He 
hunted all day without success, until near sunset, when it was time for 
him to return. Then he remembered what his father had told him of 
the shrubs that would always have deer for his arrow. Looking around 
he saw a cliff rose, into which he shot his dart, and at the same instant 





MATTHEWS.) MYTH: THE DISOBEDIENCE OF THE PROPHET. 393 


he observed a deer falling in the shrub. He ran to the spot and found 
a dead doe. When he had skinned and dressed it, he could discover 
no high tree at hand that he might hang it on to keep it safe from the 
wolves, so he laid the meat on the top of the cliff rose, spread the skin 
over it, stuck an arrow upright on the top of it, and went home. On 
his way he often said to himself, ‘* Why does ny father bid me never to 
go to the south?” He pondered much on the subject, and before he 
reached the hut he had determined to satisfy his curiosity and to go to 
the south on the first good opportunity. When he got home he told 
where he had laid the meat, and, fearing that the crows or coyotes 
might get at it, he begged his brother to hasten and bringit in. When 
the meat came he asked that a piece might be broiled for his lunch on 
the hunt next day. All that night the thought of his father’s prohibi- 
tion continued to haunt his mind and would not be dismissed. 

22. On the morrow, when he went forth on his hunt, his father gave 
him the usual injunctions. saying: “ Hunt in any direction from the 
lodge that you will; but go not to the south.” He departed as if he 
were going to the east; but when he got out of sight from the hogan 
he turned round to the south and pursued his way in that direction. - 
He went on until he came to the San Juan River, and he forded it at 
a place a little above Beautiful Under the Cottonwoods, where they 
had crossed it before. He went on to a place called Tyél-saka¢ (Erect 
Cat-Tail Rushes) and thence to a place called Dsiski¢ (Clay Hill). Here 
he laid his deer skin mask and his weapons on the ground and climbed 
the hill to observe the surrounding country for game. But instead of 
looking south in the direction in which he was going he looked to the 
north, the country in which dwelt his people. Before him were the 
beautiful peaks of @epéntsa, with their forested slopes. The clouds 
hung over the mountain, the showers of rain fell down its sides, and all 
the country looked beautiful. And he said to the land, “ Aqalani!” 
(greeting), and a feeling of loneliness «nd home-ickness came over him, 
and he wept and sang this song: 

That flowing water! That flowing water! 
My mind wanders across it. 

That broad water! That flowing water! 
My mind wanders across it. 

That old age water! That flowing water! 
My mind wanders across if. 

23. The gods heard his song and they were about to gratify his wishes. 
He was destined to return to (epéntsa, but not in the manner he most 
desired. Had he gazed to the south when he ascended the hill, instead 
of to the north, it might have been otherwise. 

24. He wiped away his tears and went down to the place where he 
had laid his mask and arms at the foot of the hill. He put on his buck- 
skin coat and was just putting on his mask, but had not quite drawn 
it down over his head, when he heard a noise to the south and, looking 


394 THE MOUNTAIN CHANT. 


around, he saw a great crowd on horseback riding towards him. To 
see better he drew off his mask, and then observed that they were 
dividing into two lines as they advanced; a moment later he was sur- 
rounded. The horsemen were of the tribe of Ute, a people whose 
language he did not understand. One young man rode up close to the 
Navajo, aimed an arrow at the breast of the latter and drew it to the 
head; but just as he was about to release it an old man began to ad- 
dress the party in a loud voice and the young warrior lowered his ar- 
row and relaxed his bow. Then the speaker dismounted, approached 
the captive, and seized him by the arm. For a long time there was 
much loud talking and discussion among the Ute. Now one would 
harangue the party and then another would make a speech, but after a 
while the dispute ceased and the old man motioned to the Navajo to 
move ou. They made him trot while they followed him on horseback 
in a semicircle, so that they could guard him and watch his movements. 
Soon they came to Tyél saka¢; shortly afterward they crossed the San 
Juan. That night they camped near @epéntsa, where they watched 
him closely all night and gave him nothing to eat. They bound his 
feet firmly together, tied his hands behind his back, and threw an un- 
tanned buckskin over him before they lay down to sleep. 

25, They set out on their journey again early in the morning. At 
Coinceski‘ (Scattered Springs) they stopped for a little while to eat, but 
the only food they gave the Navajo was the full of his palm of service 
berries. When they arrived on the south side of Cotsosi (Narrow Water) 
they halted for the night and a number went out tohunt. Among them 
they secured two deer, one large and one small; the feet of these they 
gave to their captive for his supper. Next morning they gave him a 
piece of liver, half of which he ate and the rest he kept. They moved 
on rapidly and rested for the night at Dsil-nahoyal, where there was a 
spring. They had given him nothing to eat all that day, and at night 
they gave him nothing; so it was well for him that he had secreted part 
of the liver. This he ate after dark. On the third morning he had to 
set out fasting and had to go on foot as usual. About noon, however, 
one of the Ute took pity on him and lent him a horse to ride, while 
the owner of the horse walked all the afternoon. That night they ar- 
rived at the bank of a large river, and here they gave him to under- 
stand, by signs, that this was the last river they would cross until they 
got home. Beyond the river there was nothing in sight but a great 
plain. 

26. By the light of the morning, however, on the next day, he dis- 
cerned some mountains showing their points faintly above the northern 
horizon. To these the Ute pointed and motioned to him to go ahead. 
They did not follow him immediately ; but saddled up at their leisure 
while the Navajo went on. Though he was now for some time alone 
on the trail and out of sight of his captors, he knew that he could 
not escape; all around and before him was a desert plain where he could 


a. ee 


MATTHEWS. ] MYTH: THE CAPTIVITY OF THE PROPHET. 395 


not discover a single hiding place ; so he trudged on, tired and hungry 
and sorrowing, and he wept all along the way. At noon they gave him 
another handful of berries. 

27. At night they came to a plain situated between four mountains, 
one on the east, one on the south, one on the west, and one on the north, 
and here there was a great encampment of Ute, whose tents were scat- 
tered around in different places on the plain. There was one tent 
whose top was painted black and whose base was painted white and 
which had a forked pole set in the ground in front of it. To this his 
master, the old man who had saved his life and taken him by the arm 
on the oceasion of his capture, led him, while the rest of the war party 
departed to their respective tents. The old man hung his own arms 
and accouterments on the pole, and the slave, fellowing his example, 
hung his deer skin mask and robe on the forks and laid his erutches 
against the pole, and he prayed to the head of the deer, saying: 

Whenever I have appealed to you, you have helped me, my pet. 
Once you were alive. my pet. 

Take care that I do not die, my pet. 

Watch over me. 

When he had finished his prayer an old man came and danced around 
him, and when the latter bad done an old woman approached with a 
whistle in her hand and she whistled all around him. This was for joy 
because they had captured one of an alien tribe. Then his master mo- 
tioned to him to go into the tent. Here he was given a large bowl of 
berries of which he ate his fill, and he was allowed to lie down and 
sleep undisturbed until morning. 

28. Next morning the Ute began to enter the tent. They came one 
by one and in small groups until after a while there was a considerable 
crowd present. Then they gave the Navajo to understand by signs 
that they wished to know for what purpose he wore the mask and the 
buckskin. He answered that he used them for no particular purpose, 
but only for a whim. They repeated the question three times very 
pointedly and searchingly, but he continued to make evasive replies. 
The fourth time they addressed him they charged him to tell the truth 
and speak quickly, reminding him that he was a prisoner whose life 
was in the hands of his captors and telling him that if he did not dis- 
close the use of his mask and robe he would be killed before sunset, 
while if he revealed the secret his life would be spared. He pondered 
but a short time over their words and determined to tell them the truth. 
So he explained to them the use of the mask and the robe in deceiving 
the deer and told the wonderful power he had of getting game by shoot- 
ing into certain bushes. At dark they sent in two young men to be 
initiated into his mysteries. He began by giving them a full account 
of all bis father had done and all he had shown him; he then taught 
them how to build the sweat-house, how to make the mask, how to 
shoot the pluck, and bow to walk like a deer, and he made them prac- | 


396 THE MOUNTAIN CHANT. 


tice the walk and the motions of the animal. All this occupied eleven 
days. 

29. On the twelfth day the Ute went out to hunt, leaving few men 
in camp. ‘There was a small! inclosure of brushwood close to the tent; 
in it were two high poles on which skins were dressed. His master 
left him, that day, two skins to prepare, and he set to work at them 
and labored hard scraping and rubbing them until about noon, when 
he felt hungry and went into the tent to see if he could find anything 
to eat. He opened a bag and found it to contain dried meat; he put 
some of this on the coals and sat down to wait tillit was done. Ashe 
watched the meat cooking he heard a noise at the deer skin door of the 
tent and, looking up, he beheld an old woman crawling in on her hands 
and knees. She passed once around the fire and went out at the door 
again, but before she disappeared she turned her head and addressed 
him, saying: “ My grandchild, do something for yourself.” He paused 
«a moment in wonder at the strange vision he had seen and the strange 
words he had heard, and then he rushed out of the tent to follow his 
visitor and see who she might be. He went around the tent four times; 
he gazed in every direction; but no one was to be seen. During the 
rest of the day he worked but little. Occasionally he took up a stone 
and rubbed the hides; but most of the time be walked and loitered 
around, busy with his thoughts. 


30. After sunrise the hunters returned with an abundance of meat. . 


They came to the great lodge where the master of the Navajo dwelt; 
they extended its circumference by removing the pegs at the bottom; 
they stored the goods of the owner away at the outer edge, so as to 
leave a clear space in the center, and made everything ready for the 
reception of a large number of guests. After dark a great number 
gathered in the tent and the captive was ordered by his master to bring 
some water. He took two wicker bottles to a neighboring spring, filled 
them, and laid them on the ground beside the spring, while he went to 
gather some plauts to stick into the mouths of the bottles as stopples. 
As he went he heard a voice saying *“* Hist!” and looking in the direction 
whence it came he sawaform sitting in the water; it wore a mask like 
the head of a great owl and it was smoking a pipe. When he turned 
towards it, it said, ‘‘ You walk around like one without sense or knowl- 
edge. Why don’t you do something for yourself? When next you hear 
my voice it will be well for you if you walk towards it.” 

31. The voice ceased and the form of the owl-man vanished. Then the 


Navajo put the stopples into the vessels and carried them back. When 


he returned he observed that two large dogs were tied to the door, one 
on each side, and that three doors had been added to the lodge during 
his absence, so that now there were four doors covering the doorway. 
When he entered he found the lodge filled with Ute and he saw four 
bags of tobacco and four pipes lying near the fire, one at each ear- 
dinal point of the compass. He observed a very old man and a very 


i 
: 





matmnews] MYTH: THE COUNCIL AND THE SENTENCE. Doe. 


old woman seated al the door, one on each side. A cord tied to the old 
woman passed round the edge of the lodge on one side, behind the 
spectators, to the west, and another cord, tied to the man, passed round 
on the opposite side of the lodge. His master bade him sit down in 
the west, and when he was seated one of the cords was tied to his wrists 
and one to his ankles, and thus he was secured to the old pair. 

32. Now he feared more than ever for his safety; he felt sure that his 
captors contemplated his death by torture. The pipes were lit and the 
council began. The talking in the strange 
tongue that he could not understand had 
lasted long into the night, when he fan- 
cied that he heard the voice of the Y¢ebit- 
cai (Anglicized, Yay-bi-chy or Gay-bi chy) 
above the din of human voices, saying 
“huthu‘hu‘hu” in the far distance. He 
strained his attention and listened well, 
and after a while he felt certain that he 
heard the voice again nearer and louder. 
It was not long until the cry was repeated 
for the third time, and soon after the cap- 
tive heard it once more, loudly and dis- 
tinctly, immediately te the west of the 
lodge. Then there was a sound as of 
footsteps at the door, and the white light- 
ning entered through the smoke-hole and 
circled around the lodge, hanging over 
the heads of the council. But the Ute 
heard not the voice which the Navajo 
lieard and saw not the vision he beheld. 
Soon the Yaybichy (Qastcéélei) entered 
the lodge and standing on the white 
lightning, said: ‘‘What is the matter 
with you, my grandchild? You take no 
thought about anything. Something you 
must do for yourself, or else, in the morn- 
ing you will be whipped to death —that 
is what the council has decided. Pull 
out four pegs from the bottom of the tent, push it open there, and 
then you can shove things through.” The Navajo answered, ‘“ How 
shalll doit? See the way Iam tied! Iam poor! See how Iam wound 
up!” But Qastceélc¢i again said: ‘* When you leave, take with you those 
bags filled with embroideries and take with you tobacco from the pouches 
near the fire.” Scarcely had Qastcéélei disappeared when the Navajo 
heard a voice overhead, and a bird named gocgo¢i flew down through the 
smoke hole, hovered four times around the lodge over the heads of the 
Ute, and departed by the way it had entered. Ina moment after it had 





Fic. 50. Qastcéélci, from a dry painting 
of the klédji-qagal. 


398 THE MOUNTAIN CHANT. 


disappeared a few of the Ute began to nod and close their eyes; soon the 
others showed signs of drowsiness; some stretched themselves out on 
the ground overpowered with sleep; others rose and departed from 
time to time, singly and in little groups, to seek their lodges and repose 
there. The last to drop asleep were the old man and the old woman 
who sat at the door; but at length their chins fell upon their bosoms. 
Then the Navajo, fearing no watchers, went to work and loosened the 
cords that bound him; he lifted, from the inside, some of the pegs which 
held the edge of the tent, and shoved out the two bags of embroideries 
which Qastcéélgi had told him to take. Passing out through the door 
of the lodge, where he found both the watch-dogs sound asleep, and 
taking with him the cords with which he had been tied and some of 
the tobacco, he went round to the back of the lodge, where he had put 
the bags; these he tied with the cords in such a manner that they would 
make an easily balanced double bundle. He shouldered his bundle and 
was all ready to start. 

33, At this moment he heard, at a little distance to the south of 
where he stood, the hoot of an owl. Instantly recollecting the words 
of the owllike form which he had encountered at the spring at night- 
fall, he set off in the direction from which the call proceeded. He had 
not walked far until he came to a precipitous bluff formed by two branch- 
ing canons, and it seemed at first impossible for him to proceed farther. 
Soon, however, he noticed a tall spruce tree, which grew beside the 
precipice from the foot to the summit, for the day had now begun to 
dawn and he could see objects more clearly. At this juncture Qastcéélgi 
again appeared to him and said: ‘ How is it, my grandchild, that you 
are still here? Get on the top of that spruce tree and go down into 
the canon on it.” The Navajo stretched out his hand to seize the top 
of the tree, but it swayed away from his grasp. ‘See, my grandfather,” 
he said to Qastcéélgi, “it moves away from me; I cannot reach it.” 
Then Qastcéél¢i flung the white lightning around the top of the tree, 
as an Indian flings his lasso around the neck of a horse, and drew it 
in to theedge of the cliff. ‘“ Descend,” he commanded the Indian, “and 
when you reach the bottom take four sprays from the tree, each from 
a different part. You may need them in the future.” So the Navajo 
went down, took the four sprays as he was bidden and put them under 
his robe. 

34, At the base of the bluff he again met Qastcéélci, and at this 
moment he heard a noise, as ofa greatand distant tumult, which seemed 
to come from above and from beyoud the edge of the cliff whence they 
had descended. From moment to moment it grew louder and came 
nearer, and soon the sounds of angry voices could be distinguished. 
The Ute had discovered the flight of their captive and were in hot pur- 
suit. ‘Your enemies are coming for you,” said the divine one; “ but 
yonder small holes on the opposite side of the cation are the doors of 
my dwelling, where you may hide. The bottom of the cafion is strewn 





MATTHEWS. ] MYTH: THE FLIGHT OF THE PROPHET. 399 


with large rocks and fallen trees; it would take you much time and 
hard labor to get over these if I did not help you; but I will do some- 
thing to make your way easy.” Ashe said this he blew a strong breath, 
and instantly a great white rainbow spanned the cation. The Navajo 
tried to step on this in order to cross, but it was so soft that his feet 
went through; he could not step on it. Qastceélei stood beside him and 
laughed at his fruitless attempts to get on the rainbow. After he had 
enjoyed this sport sufficiently the ye (Anglicized, gay or yay) blew 
another strong breath, when at once the rainbow became as hard as 
ice and they both crossed it with ease. When they reached the opposite 
wall of the cation Qastcvélei pointed to a very small hole in the cliff and 
said, ‘*This is the door of my lodge; enter!” By this time the shouts of 
the Ute sounded very loud in the ears of the terrified fugitive and it 
seemed to him that his pursuers must have reached the edge of the 
opposite cliff, where they would not be long before they would see him ; 
still, hard as he tried to enter the cave, he could not succeed ; the hole 
was not big enough for him to put his head in. The Yaybichy roared 
with laughter and slapped his hands together as he witnessed the ab- 
ject fear and the fruitless efforts of the Navajo. When he had laughed 
enough he blew on the little hole and it spread instantly into a large 
orifice, through which they both entered with ease. They passed through 
three rooms and stopped in the fourth. Here Qastcéélgi took the bags 
from the back of the Navajo, opened them, and drew from them some 
beautifully garnished clothing—a pair of moccasins, a pair of long- 
fringed leggings, and a shirt. He arrayed himself in these and went out, 
leaving the Navajo in the cave. As soon as his rescuer was gone the 
fugitive heard loud noises without and the sound of many angry voices, 
which continued for a long, long time. At last they died away and were 
heard nomore. The Ute had tracked him to the edge of the cliff where 
he got on the tree; but there they lost his trail and searched all the 
neighborhood to see if they could regain it; hence the noises. When 
all was silent Qastcéélgi returned and said, “ Your enemies have departed ; 
you can leave in safety.” So, taking a tanned elk skin to cover his back 
and a pair of new moccasins to protect his feet, the Navajo set out 
from the cave. 

35. It was nightfall when he emerged. He turned his face in the di- 
rection of his home and walked rapidly allthe night. As day dawned he 
began to feel hopeful; but, ere the sun rose, distant sounds, which grew 
louder and louder, reached his ear. He knew them to be the voices of 
his pursuers and again he became sorely afraid. He hurried on and 
came near the foot of a high isolated pinnacle of rock, whose top ap- 
peared to be inaccessible. Glancing to the summit, however, he beheld 
standing therea black mountainsheep. Thinking that this singular vision 
was sent to him as a sign from the yays (gods) and boded well for him, 
he came to the base of the rock, when the sheep addressed him, saying: 
“My grandson, come around to the other side of the rock and you will 


400 THE MOUNTAIN CHANT. 


find a place where you may ascend.” He went around as he was bid- 
den and saw the cleft in the rock, but it was too narrow for him to 
climb in it. Then the sheep blew into the cleft and it spread out so wide 
that he entered it easily and clambered to the summit. Here he found 
the sheep standing in four tracks, marked or sunken in the rock, one 
hoof in each track, and under the center of his body was a smallhole in 
the rock. Into this hole the sheep bade him enter; but he replied that 
the hole was too small. Then the sheep blew on the hole andit spread 
so wide open that both the man and the sheep entered easily and de- 
scended into the heart of the rock. Here there were again four apart- 
ments; two of them were blue and two were black ; rainbows extended 
in all directions through them. In the fourth room, which was black, 
the sheep left the Navajo to rest, and departed. Soon the fugitive 
heard, as on the previous day, when he lay hidden in the cave, of Qas- 
tceélei, the voices of the angry Ute calling and haranguing all around 
the rock, and he continued to hear them for a very long time. Soon 
after the clamor ceased the sheep returned to him to notify him thathis 
enemies had withdrawn and that he could set out on his journey again 
without fear. 

36. He journeyed homeward all the night, and when daylight began 
to appear he found himself on the banks of the stream where the Ute 
slept the night before they reached their tents, when they bore him 
home a captive. Here again he heard in the distance the voices of his 
pursuers and he hastened his steps. Presently he met a little old man 
sitting on the ground and cleaning cactus fruit. The old man had a 
sharp nose, little bright eyes, and a small moustache growing on each 
side of his upper lip. At once the Navajo recognized him as the Bush- 
rat (Neotoma mexicana). The latter asked the traveler where he came 
from. ‘Ob, Iam just roaming around here,” was the answer. But the 
rat, not satisfied, repeated his question three times, in a manner which 
gave the Navajo to understand that his answer was not credited. So 
at last he answered truthfully that he was a Navajo who had been capt- 
ured by the Ute, and that he was fleeing homeward from his captors, 
who were at that moment close behind him in pursuit. ‘It is well,” 
said the rat, “that you have told me this, for I think I can save you. 
On yonder hillside there is a flat rock, and round about it are piled 
many little sticks and stones. It is my home, and I will’ guide you 
thither.” Heled the Indian to the rock and, showing him a small hole 
under it, bade him stoop low and place his head near the hole. As the 
Nayajo obeyed the rat blew a strong breath on the hole, which at once 
opened wide enough to let the visitorin. The rat followed immediately 
behind him as he entered. Inside of the den there were an old woman, 
two young men, and two young women. ‘These constituted the family 
of the Bush-rat, who left the den as soon as the stranger was safely 
housed. Soon the voices of the pursuing Ute were again heard around 
the rock and at the mouth of the den, and the Navajo sat a long time 





4 


matTuews ] MYTE: MARVELOUS INCIDENTS OF THE FLIGHT. 401 


in silence listening to them. After a while the rat woman said to him, 
‘You seem to be tired and hungry. Will you have something to eat?” 
and he answered, “ Yes; I am very hungry and would like some food.” 
On hearing this she went into one corner of her dwelling, where were 
many chips and bones and shells of seeds and skins of fruits, and she 
brought him some of these and offered them to him; but at this moment 
the wind god whispered into his ear and warned him not to partake of 
the refuse; so he said to the woman, “ My mother, I can not eat these 
things.” Then she went to another corner of the den, where there was 
another pile of débris ; but again the wind god prompted him and again 
he refused. After this she visited in turn two other piles of trash in 
the corners of her lodge and tried to make him accept it as food, but he 
still rejected it. Now, while he had been sitting in the lodge he had 
not failed to lool around him, and he had observed a long row of wicker 
jars standing at one side. At one end of the row was a black vessel 
and at the other end a white vessel. When she at length asked him, 
* What food is it that you would have, my son?” the wind god whis- 
pered to him, ‘Ask her for that which is in the jars at the end of the 
row,” aud he replied, ‘I will take some food from the black jar and 
some from the white jar.” She removed the stopples from the jars. 
Irom the black vessel she took nuts of the pion and fruit of the yueca 
and from the white vessel she took cherries and cactus fruit, all of which 
he received in the folded corner of his elk robe. He was just about to 
partake of some of the nice fruit when again he heard the low voice of 
the wind god. This time it said, “‘ Hat not the food of the rats in the 
home of the rats, if you would not become a rat; wait till you go out 
to-night.” Much as he longed for the food, after hearing this, he tasted 
it not, but held it in the fold of the elk skin. Late in the day they were 
all astonished by hearing a loud rattling noise at the mouth of the cave, 
and, looking in that direction, saw the end of a big stick, which was 
thrust viciously from time to time into the opening and poked arouné@ 
in different directions; but it was not long enough to reach to the place 
where they sat. “ What is that?” said the woman. ‘Oh,” answered the 
Navajo, ‘that is the Ute, who have trailed me to this hole and hope 
to kill me by poking that stick in here.” The old rat watched from a 
secret place outside all the actions of the Ute, and when he came home 
at night he asked his family if the stick had hurt any of them. ‘“ We 
saw only the end of it,” they replied. He then turned to the Navajo 
and said, ‘‘ Your pursuers have disappeared ; you may go out without 
fear.” 

37. He trudged wearily on all night, and at dawn he was beside the 
high volcanic rocks at Qodtsosi, another place where his captors had 
halted with bim. There is one place where the rocky wall is quite 
smooth. As he was passing this place he heard a voice saying, “Sh!” 
He looked all around him, but saw nothing that could have made the 
sound. He was about to pass on when he again heard the voice, and, 
; 5 ETH 26 





402 THE MOUNTAIN CHANT. 


looking around, he again saw no one. The fourth time that this hap- 
pened, however, he observed in the smooth part of the rock a door 
standing open and a little animal called Kleyateini looking out at him. 
As he stood gazing at the sharp nose and the bright eyes the distant 
voices of his pursuers sounded again in his ears and the little animal 
bade him enter and hide himself. As the Navajo entered the Kleyateini 
passed out and closed the door behind Lim. The fugitive was not long 
in his place of concealment when the clamor made by the foiled pur- 
suers was again heard, but it ceased sooner than usual. It was not yet 
sunset when the little animal returned to announce that the Ute had 
gone from the neighborhood. Whenthe Navajo stepped out of the hole 
in the rock, Kleyatcini pointed out to him the mountains in which his 
home lay and counseled him to travel directly towards them. 

38. He pursued his way in the direction indicated to him all night, 
and at break of day hé found himself walking between a pair of low 
hills of clay which stood close together, and once more he heard behind 
him the voices of his enemies and the trampling of their horses. But 
now his good friend Qastceélei appeared to him and said to him: ‘ My 
grandchild, are you still here? Have you come only thus far?” “Iam 
here,” cried the Navajo, “and oh, my grandfather, I could do no better. 
Look at my limbs! See how sore and swollen they are! I am exhausted 
and feel that I cannot flee much farther before my enemies.” ‘Go, 
then,” said Qastceélgi, “to that hill which is the farther from us and 
climb to the top of it; but, when you are taking the very last step which 
will place you on the summit, shut your eyes as you make that step.” 
The Navajo hastened to the hill, and, weary as he was, he soon 
ascended it. As he lifted his foot to take the last step he closed his 
eyes, as the yay had bidden him. When he felt his foot again on the 
earth he opened his eyes, and lo! instead of having a little hill under 
his feet, he stood on the summit of a great mountain peak, seamed with 
deep canons, bordered with rugged rocks, and clothed with great for- 
ests of pine and spruce; while far away on the plain at the foot of the 
mountain —so far that he could scarcely discern them — were his baffled 
pursuers, and beside him stood Qastcéélei. The latter pointed out to 
him many familiar places in the distance—the valley of the San Juan 
and Dsilyi-qojoni (Beautiful in the Mountains), where he and his peo- 
ple first lived. He rested securely on the mountain top all day. 

39. At sunset he went on his way again. When daylight began to 
appear he crossed the San Juan. Soon after, while journeying on over 
an open plain, he once more heard the Ute on his trail. He now felt 
very sad and hopeless, for his limbs were so stiff and swollen that 
every motion gave him pain and he could hardly drag himself along. 
But at this moment he became conscious that he was not alone, and 
glancing to one side he saw Niltci, the wind god, walking with him. 
And Niltei brought a great dark whirlwind, which roared a moment be- 
side them and then buried its point in the ground and dug a deep hole 


MATTHEWS.] MYTH: THE DISCOMFITURE OF IIS PURSUERS. 403 


there; it dug a cavern with four chambers. Then dark clouds gathered 
and rain began to fall. ‘Mave you anything with you that may help 
you?” asked the god. “TI have nothing,” said the Navajo, “but four 
sprays of spruce, which the Yaybicby bade me pluck from the tree on 
whick I descended into the canon the night I left the Ute camp.” 
“They will do,” said the wind god. ‘Make quickly four balls of mud 
and thrust through each ball a twig of the spruce, and lay them on the 
ground so that the tops of the twigs will point towards your enemies.” 
The Navajo did as he was commanded. Then Niltci blew the twigs and 
mud balls in the direction of the pursuers and told the Navajo to de- 
scend into the retreat which the whirlwind had formed. He went down 
and rested secure, while he heard oyerlead great peals of thunder, the 
loud rushing of the tempest, aud the heavy pattering of enormous hail- 
stones, to bring which the mud balls had been made. The noises of the 
storm died away, and about midday Niltci came into the cave and said 
to the man: ‘*Come forth; your enemies have been dispersed. Many 
have been killed by the hail, and the rest have gone towards their 
homes.” Then the Navajo came up out of the ground and set out in the 
direction of his old home at Dsilyit-qojoni. 

40. It was about sunset when he reached the top of the mountain. 
The snow began to fall heavily and a strong wind began to blow. He 
walked on to the western brow of the mountain, where there was a great 
precipice. Here the storm blew with such violence that he could scarcely 
stand, and yet the precipice was so steep that he did not see how he 
could get down. But soon, as on a former occasion of this kind, he 
discovered a spruce tree which grew against the side of the precipice, 
and at the same time Qastcéél¢i appeared to him again and directed 
him to go down on the spruce tree. He did so, and when he reached 
the bottom he found the yay there awaiting him. He addressed 
Qastceélgi: “Oh, my grandfather, I am tired and sore and sleepy. IL 
would like to lie down under this tree and sleep.” But the god answered, 
“ Go, my grandchild, to yonder fire and rest,” and he pointed to a distant 
gleam on the side of a mcuntain which lay beyond a very deep valley. 
** No, my grandfather,” cried the Navajo, “ Iam weary and my limbs are 
sore and weak; I can not travel so far.” ‘TI wil] help you,” said the 
yay, aud as he spoke he spanned the vailey with a flash of lightning, 
over which he led the man to the distant mountain. They reached it 
at a point close to the fire; bunt the moment they stood again on the firm 
earth Qastceéle¢i and the fire vanished. The man was bewildered and 
at a loss what to do. He walked around the mountain a short distance 
and then changed bis mind and walked back to the place from which 
he started. Here he found Qastcéélgi awaiting him. The yay spoke 
not a word, but pointed down into the valley and led the way thither. 
At the bottom of the valley they came to a great hole in the ground; 
the yay pointed in and agai. led the way. As they advanced into the 
cave the air grew warmer. In a little while they discovered a bright 


404 THE MOUNTAIN CHANT. 


fire on which there was no wood. Four pebbles lay on the ground to- 
gether: a black pebble in the east, a blue one in the south, a yellow 
one in the west, and a white one in the north; from these the flames 
issued forth. Around the fire lay four bears, colored and placed to cor- 
respond with the pebbles. When the strangers approached the fire 
the bears asked them for tobacco, and when the former replied ‘that 
they had none the bears became angry and thrice more demanded it. 
When the Navajo fled from the Ute camp he had helped himself from 
one of the four bags which the council was using and had taken a 
pipe, and these he had tied up in his skin robe; so when the fourth 
demand was made he filled the pipe and lighted it at the fire. He 
handed the pipe to the black bear, who, taking but one whiff, passed it 
to the blue bear and immediately fell senseless. The blue bear took 
two whiffs and passed the pipe, when he too fell over in a state of un- 
consciousness. The yellow bear succumbed after the third whift, and 
the white bear, in the north, after the fourth whiff. Now the Navajo 
knocked the ashes and tobacco out of his pipe and rubbed the latter on 
the feet, legs, abdomen, chest, shoulders, forehead, and mouth of each 
of the bears in turn, and they were at once resuscitated. He replaced 
the pipe in the corner of his robe. When the bears recovered they 
assigned to the Navajo a place on the east side of the fire where he 
might lie all night, and they brought out their stores of corn meal and 
tciltcin and other berries and offered them to him to eat; but Qastceélei 
warned him not to touch the food and again disappeared. So, hungry 
as he was, the Indian lay down supperless to sleep. When he woke 
in the morning the bears again offered food, which he again declined, 


saying he was not hungry. Then they showed him how to make the’ 


bear kethawns, or sticks to be sacrificed to the bear gods, and they 
drew from one corner of the cave a great sheet of cloud, which they 
unrolled, and on it were painted the forms of the yays of the cultivated 
plants. As he departed the bears said, ‘‘There are others in these 
parts who have secrets to tell you. Yonder is Tsenasteci, where many 
dwell.” So he set forth for Tsenastei (Circle of Red Stones.) 

41. As he passed down the valley he heard a loud rushing noise be 
hind him, and looking around he beheld a tornado, The air was filled 
with logs and uprooted trees, borne along by the great storm. Itcame 


nearer and seemed to be advancing to destroy him. He was terrified _ 


and cried out to the storm: “Ciyéicee, Dsilyis Neyani, Qailaci?” (“Tis 
I, Reared Within the Mountains. Who art thou?”) The tempest recog- 
nized him and subsided, and in its place appeared four men in the shape 
of the gloi or weasel. The four weasel men showed him how to make 
the gloi-bikecan, or sacrificial sticks of the gloi. What name the Nav- 
ajo bore before this time the ancient tale does not tell us; but from 
the moment he said these words he was cailed among the gods Dsilyié 
Neyani, and was afterwards known by this name among his people. 


a 


MATTHEWS. ] MYTH: THE NAME OF THE PROPHET. 405 


42. After this adventure he continued on his way to Tsenastci. He 
had not journeyed far when he met the wind god, who said to him: 
“Those whom you will meet at Tsenastci are evil ones; therefore I will 
be with you and will walk before you.” When they came to Tsenastci 
they found a hole in the rocks guarded by two great rattlesnakes, one 
on each side, and covered by two pion trees, for a door. When the 
travelers drew near, the serpents snowed signs of great anger, and when 
the former approached the door the reptiles shook their rattles vio- 
lently, thrust out their tongues, and struck at the intruders 4s though 
they would bite them; but they did not bite. Niltci thrust aside 
the pinon trees; he and his companions entered, and, when they had 
passed within, the pifon trees, moving of their own accord, closed the 
entrance behind them. Within they encountered a bald headed old man 
who had only alittle tuft of hair over each ear. This was Klictso, the 
Great Serpent. He asked Niltci who his human companion was, and 
the wind god answered that he was a Navajo who had been captured 
by the Ute, but had escaped from them and had suffered many hard- 
ships. On hearing this Klictsd showed the Indian how to make the 
kethawns, now known to the Navajo shamans as klictso-bikegan, or sac- 
rificial sticks of the Great Serpent, and he told him how to plant these 
sacrifices. 

43. From the home of Klictso they went to a place called Tse‘binayol 
(Wind Circles Around a Rock). When they drew near the place they 
heard loud peals of thunder and the lightning struck close to them in 
four different places. They were now approaching the home of the 
lightning gods; this is why destruction by the thunderbolt seemed to 
threaten them. Then the Navajo spoke tothe lightning, as he had for- 
merly spoken to the whirlwind, saying, ‘‘’Tis I, Reared Within the Mount- 
ains. Who art thou?” whereat the thunder and the lightning ceased, 
and the travelers walked on until they entered a house of black clouds,, 
inside of a mountain, which was the house of I‘¢ni‘, the Lightning. He- 
was bald, like the Great Serpent, having only a little tuft of hair over 
each ear, At each of the four sides of the room where I‘¢ni‘ sat was a 
lightning bird; that in the east was black, that in the south was blue, 
that in the west, yellow, and that in the north, white. From time to 
time the birds flashed lightning from their claws to the center of the 
room where the god sat, and the lightning was of the same color as the 
bird that emitted it. When the travelers entered I‘¢ni‘ said to Niltci, 
“Who is this that you have brought with you?” The latter answered, 
“It is a Navajo who has been a captive with the Ute and has escaped. 
He has suffered much. See how his knees and ankles are swollen.” 
Then the Lightning showed him two kethawns, such as the shamans now 
sacrifice under the name of i‘¢ni‘-bikegan, or sacrificial sticks of the 
lightning, and, having instructed him how to make and to plant these, 
he bade his visitors depart. 


406 THE MOUNTAIN CHANT. 


44. The next place they reached on their journey was Sai hyitsozi 
(Narrow Sand Hills). They entered the hill and came to the house of 
Ka¢ligi, the Butterfly, a dwelling filled with butterflies and rain- 
bows. They found Kadligi and his wife sitting there, and also Atsos- 
bebagani (House of Feathers), who wore black leggins. Here Niltci 
disappeared and the woman had to put her questions to the Navajo. 
She inquired, as the others had done, who he was, and he briefly told 
her his story. She arose, went out, and presently returned with a large 
basin made of a beautiful white shell; this was filled with water and 
soap root. She laid it before the Navajo, saying, ‘‘ You are about to 
visit some fair and beautiful people, and it is proper that you should 
bathe your body and wash your hair well.” When he had finished his 
bath he of the house of feathers took fine corn meal and applied it to 
the feet, the knees, the abdomen, and the other parts of the body which 
are usually touched in healing ceremonies. Then, under the directions 
of Atsds-bebagani, the Navajo rubbed his whole body with meal to dry 
himself and painted his face white with glee (white earth). House of 
Feathers next brought in small bundles of the following plants: teil- 
¢elgisi (Gutierrezia euthamic), goikal (Artemesia trifida), tséji, and 
tlo‘nasgasi (Bouteloua hirsuta), burned them to charcoal, and directed 
the Indian to blacken his legs and forearms with this substanee. When 
this was done he put spots of white on the black, and, in short, painted 
him as the akaninili, or courier (Fig. 52) sent out to summon guests to 
the dance, is painted to this day in the ceremonies of the dsilyidje 
qacal. When the painting was done Ka¢ligi Esgaya (Butterfly Woman) 
took hold of his hair and pulled it downward and stretched it until it 
grew in profusion down to his ankles. Then she pressed and worked 
his body and face all over until she molded him into a youth of the most 
beautiful form and feature. They gave him fine white moccasins and 
a collar of beaver skin with a whistle attached to it; they put the ka. 
bascan, or plumed sticks to represent wings, on his arms, and altogether 
dressed and adorned him as the akaninili is dressed and adorned. The 
woman gave him white corn meal mixed with water to eat, and he slept 
all night in the house of the butterflies. In the morning the woman (or 
goddess, as we night better call her) laid two streaks of white lightning 
on the ground and bade him stand on them with one foot on each 
streak. ‘+ Now,” she said, ‘‘ the white lightning is yours; use it how and 
when you will.” Then she told him to go to the top of the bill in which 
their house lay. When he ascended he found another house on the top, 
and in it he again met Ka¢lugi and his wife, who awaited him there. 
He observed a streak of white lightning that spanned a broad valley, 
stretching from the hill on which he stood to a distant wooded mount- 
ain. ‘ There,” said Ka¢ligi Esgayay pointing to the lightning, ‘ is the 
trail you must follow. It leads to yonder mountain, which is named 
Bisteagi.” 


matmtews.]| MYTH: HIS ADVENTURES AMONG THE GODS. 407 


45. He followed the lightning trail and soon arrived at the house of 
Estsan-¢igini ({loly Woman). The house was inside of a black mount- 
ain; but the lightning ended not until it went quite into the dwelling; 
so he had ouly to follow it to find his way in. The door was of trees. 
Within, on the east wall hung the sun and on the west wall hung the 
moon. Here he was shown the kethawn which is called Estsan-¢igini- 
bikkegan, or the sacrificial stick of the holy woman, and was told how to 
make it and bow to bury it. As he was about to depart from this 
place two of the wind gods and the butterfly god appeared to him, 
and the whole party of four set out for Tetekai (Chusca Knoll of our 
geographers). 

46, At this place they entered a house which was inside of the mount- 
ain. It was two stories high; it had four rooms on the first story and 
four on the second. It had four doorways, which were covered with 
trees for doors; in the east was a black spruce tree, in the south a blue 
spruce tree, in the west a yellow spruce tree, and in the north a white 
shining spruce tree. Here dwelt four of the Tciké cae-natlehi (Maiden 
that Becomes a Bear). Their faces were white; their legs and forearms 
were covered with shaggy hair; their hands were like those of human 
beings; but their teeth were long and pointed. The first, Tcike-cac-nat- 
lehi, it is said, had twelve brothers. She learned the art of converting 
herself into a bear from the coyote. She was a great warrior and in- 
vulnerable. When she went to war she took out and hid her vital 
organs, so that no one could kill her; when the battle was over she put 
them back in their placesagain. The maidens showed him how to make 
four kethawns and told him how to bury them in order to properly 
sacrifice them. 

47. From Tetckai they went to Nina-qo¢ezgog (Valley Surrounded on 
All Sides by Hills), near @epénutsa, where they found the house of the 
Tsilké-¢igini (Holy Young Men), of whom there were four. There were, 
in the dwelling, four rooms, which had not smooth walls, but looked like 
rooms in a cavern; yet the house was made of water. A number of 
plumed arrows (kétso-yiscan) were hanging on the walls, and each 
young man (standing one in the east, one in the south, onein the west, 
and one in the north) held such an arrow in his extended right hand. 
No kethawn was given him; but he was bidden to observe well how 
the holy young warriors stood, that he might imitate them in the rites 
he should establish amongst men. 

48. The next place they visited was Tse‘ga-iskagi (Rock that Bends 
Back), where they entered a house, striped within horizontally of many 
colors, and feund eight more of the Tsilké-¢igiui (Holy Young Men). 
Two stood at each cardinal point and each one grasped a sapling 
which he held over his upturned mouth, as if about to swallow it. One 
of the young men addressed him, saying “Do thus. There are eight 
of us here; but when you do this in the dance that you will teach your 
people you need not have eight young men—six will be enough.” 


408 THE MOUNTAIN CHANT. 


49, From here they went to Tcétcel-hyitso (Big Oaks), to visit the 
nome of (igin-yosini (yosini is a species of squirrel). It was built of 
black water-slime (¢ragli¢) and the door was of red sunbeams. On the 
east wall hung a big black log; on the south wall, a blue log; on the 
west wall, a yellow log; and on the north wall, a white log; in which 
logs the squirrels dwelt. Although they were squirrels, they were 
young men and young women, and looked very much like one another. 
All had red and black stripes on their backs. These taught him how 
to make and bury the kethawns sacred to themselves. 

50. Dsilninéla‘ (Last Mountain) is a conical, sharp pointed eminence, 
shaped like a Navajo hogan or lodge. It is black and has white streaks 
running down its sides. This was the next place they visited. Within 
the mountain was a house, whose door was of darkness and was guarded 
by Tc4pani (the Bat) «and an animal called Gantso (of crepuscular or 
nocturnal habits). Here dwelt many young men and young women who 
were skunks (goliji), and they taught the Navajo wanderer how to make 
and how to bury the kethawns which are sacred to the skunk. 

51. The next place to which they went was Dsil niki¢i- agi (Mountain 
Comes Down Steep), and here they found the place where Glo‘dsilkai 
(Abert’s squirrel, Sciwrus aberti) and Glo‘dsiljini dwelt. When the four 
entered, the squirrels said to them: ““What do you want here? You 
are always visiting where you are not welcome.” The gods replied: 
“Be not angry with us. This is a Navajo who was a captive among 
the Ute, but he has escaped and has suffered much. I‘¢ni‘ (the Light- 
ning) has bidden us to take him to the homes of all the ¢igini (holy 
ones, supernatural beings); therefore we have brought him here.” ‘It 
is well,” said the squirrels; “but he is hungry and must have some 
food.” They brought him pion nuts, pine nuts, spruce nuts, and serv- 
ice berries; but the gods told him not to partake of the nuts or he 
would be changed into a squirrel, to eat only of the service berries. 
When he had finished his meal, the squirrels showed him how to make 
two kethawns and how to bury them. 

52. Now Niltei whispered: “‘Let us go to Dsilya-igiv” (Four Door- 
ways Under a Mountain), where dwells @asani (the Porcupine). His 
house was in a black- mountain. At the eastern doorway there was a 
black spruce tree for a door. On the other sides there were no doors ; 
the entrances were open. They found here four porcupine gods, two 
male and two female. They were colored according to the four car- 
dinal hues. The black one stood in the east, the blue one in the south, 
the yellow one in the west, and the white one in the north. They in- 
structed him concerning the kethawns of the porcupines, and they 
offered him food, which consisted of the inner bark of different kinds of 
trees. But again, prompted by Niltci, he refused the food, saying that 
he was not able to eat food of that kind. ‘It is well,” said the poreu- 
pines, ‘¢and now you may leave us.” 


matraEws.} MYTH: THE MYSTERIES THE GODS 'T'EACH HIM. 409 


53. “Off in this direction,” whispered Niltci, pointing to the north- 
east, ‘is a place called Qo¢estso (Where Yellow Streak Runs Down). Let 
us go thither.” Here they entered a house of ove room, nade of black 
water. The door was of wind. It was the home of Teal-ninéz (Long 
Frog), of Goklic (Water Snake), of Klicka (Arrow Snake), and of other 
serpents and animals of the water. It was called Aly éqo¢ecit (They 
Came Together), because here the prophet of the dsily idje qacal visited 
the home of the snakes and learned something of their mysteries. The 
ceremonies sacred to these animals belong to another dance, that of 
the gojoni-qagal (chant of terrestrial beauty); but in the mysteries 
learned in Ahyeqo¢eci: the two ceremonies are one. Here he was in- 
structed how to make and to sacrifice four kethawns. To symbolize this 
visit of Dsilyi‘ Neyani and this union of the two ceremonies, the first 
sand picture is made. (See Plate XV.) 

54. The next place they visited was Agankike, where there was a house 
built of the white rock crystal, with a door made of all sorts of plants. 
It was called Tsega¢inigini-behogan (House of Rock Crystal) and was 
the home of Teciké-¢igini (Supernatural Young Woman, or Young Woman 
Goddess), who was the richest of all the ¢igini. In the middle of the 
floor stood a large crystal in the shape of a kethawn. Just as they were 
entering, Qastctél¢i, who had disappeared fron the Navajo’s sight at 
the house of the bears, here rejoined him, aud the party now numbered 
five. The apartment, when they came into it, was very small, but Qas- 
tceélgi blew on the walls, which extended thereat until the room was one 
of great size. The goddess showed the Navajo how to make two ke- 
thawns and directed him how to dispose of them. 

55. Thence they journeyed to Tsitsé-intyeli (Broad Cherry Trees), 
where, in a house of cherries with a door of lightning, there lived four 
gods named Dsilyi‘ Neyani(Reared Within the Mountains). The Navajo 
was Surprised to find that not only had they the same name as he had, but 
that they looked just like him and had clothes exactly the same as his. 
His companions said to him: “These are the gods in whose beautiful 
form the Butterfly goddess has molded you. These are the gods whose 
name you bear.” The hosts bade their visitors be seated, and they 
ranged themselves around the fire, one at each of the cardinal points, 
Each held an arrow made of the cliff rose (Cowania mexicana) in lis 
extended right hand. The head of the arrow was of stone, the fletching 
of eagle feathers, and the ‘‘ breath feather” of the downy plume of the 
Tsenahale (the Harpy of Navajo mythology). As they held the arrows 
they ejaculated, “ ai‘, ai‘, ai‘, ai‘,’? as they who dance the katso-yiscan 
do in the ceremonies to this day, and after the fourth ai‘ each one swal- 
lowed his arrow, head foremost, until the fletching touched his lips. 
Then he withdrew the arrow and they said: “Thus do we wish the 
Navajo to do in the dance which you will teach them; but they must 
take good care not to’break off the arrowheads when they swallow and 
withdraw them.” Sneh is the origin of the dance of the katso-yisgan, or 


410 THE MOUNTAIN CHANT. 


great plumed arrow. As they bade him good-bye, one of them said to 
the Navajo: ‘‘ We look for you,” i. e., “ We expect you to return to us,” 
an intimation to him that when he left the earth he should return to 
the gods, to dwell among them forever. 

56. From this place they journeyed on until they reached Agadsil 
(Leaf Mountain), and found the house that was made of dew-drops 
((iacd-behogan) and that had a door made of plants of many different 
kinds. This was the home of the Bitses-ninéz (Long Bodies),.who 
were goddesses. When they rose, as the strangers entered, the plumes 
on their heads seemed to touch the heavens, they were so very tall. 
The goddesses said to Dsilyit Ney ani, We give you no kethawn, but look 
at us well and remember how we appear, for in your ceremonies you 
must draw our picture; yet draw us not, as we now stand, in the east, 
the south, the west, and the north; but draw us asif we all stood in the 
east.” This is the origin of the second picture that is painted on the sand. 
(Plate XVI.) 

57. Leaving the House of Dew they proceeded to Qonakai (White 
Water Running Across). This was a stream which ran down the side 
of a hill and had its source in a great spring. Immediately above this 
spring was the home of Qastceélei. The latter, as they approached his 
home, stopped at the foot of the hill and four times ordered his com- 
panions to go in advance; but four times they refused. After the last 
refusal Qasteeélei clapped his hands, uttered his ery of ha‘ hu‘ha‘ hu‘!” 
and led the way. The house was of corn pollen; the door was of day- 
light; the ceiling was supported by four white spruce trees; rainbows ran 
in every direction and made the house shine within with their bright 
and beautiful colors. Neither kethawn nor ceremony was shown the 
Navajo here; but he was allowed to tarry four nights and was fed with 
an abuudance of ‘white corn meal and corn pollen. 

58. Now Qasteéél¢i took him toa place called Lejpahigo (Brown Earth 
Water) and led him to the top of a high hill, from which they could see 
in the far distance Gangico, where the prophet’s family dwelt > for they 
had moved away from the valley in @epéntsa, where he left them. Then 
the yay showed him the shortest road to take and bade him return 
to his people. 

59. When he got within sight of his house his people made him stop 
and told him not to approach nearer until they had summoned a Navajo 
shamav. When the latter, whose name was Red Queue, came, cere- 
monies were performed over the returned wanderer, and he was washed 
from head to foot and dried with corn meal; for thus do the Navajo 
treat all who return to their hemes from captivity with another tribe, 
in order that all alien substances and influences may be removed from 
them. When he had been thus purified he entered the house and his 
people embraced him and wept over him. But to him the odors of the 
lodge were now intolerable and he soon left the house and sat outside. 
Seeing this, the shaman gave it as his opinion that the purification al- 


MATTHEWS. ] MYTH: HIS RETURN TO HIS PEOPLE. 411 


ready made was not sufficient, and that it would be well to have a great 
dance over him. In those days the Navajo had a healing dance in 
the dark corral; but it was imperfect, with few songs and no kethAwns 
or sacrificial sticks. It was not until Dsilyit Neydni recounted his reve- 
lations that it became the great dance it now is among the Navajo. 

60. It was agreed that before the dance began Dsilyit NeyAni should 
be allowed four days and four nights in which to tell his story and 
that the medicine man should send out a number of young men to col- 
lect the plants that were necessary for the coming ceremony. For 
four nights and for four days he was busy in relating his adventures 
and instructing his hearers in all the mysteries he had learned in the 
homes of the ¢igini. Then they built the medicine lodge and got all 
things ready for the new rites and for the purification of the one who had 
returned. The shaman selected from among the plants brought him by 
the young men such as he thought would best cleanse his patient of 
all the strange food he had taken among the alien Indians and in the 
houses of the supernatural ones whom he had visited. On the first day 
he gave him pine and spruce; on the second day, big and little willows; 
ou the third day, a plant called litci and the aromatic sumac; on the 
fourth day, cedar and pion. Of these the prophet drank cold and hot 
infusions in the morning by the fire. 

61. During these four days the ceremonies which Dsilyit Neyaéni had 
introduced were in progress. On the fifth day it was proposed they 
should send out the akaninili (meal sprinkler) or courier to invite their 
neighbors to the great dance. There were two couriers to be sent: one 
was to go to the north, to a place called Cogojila‘ (Much Grease Wood), 
to invite some friendly bands of Ute, some distant bands of Navajo, and 
some Jicarilla who dwelt there; the other was to go to the south, to 
Tse‘lakai-sila (Where Two White Rocks Lie), to ask the Southern Apache, 
the White Mountain Apache, the Cohonino, and a tribe called (ildjéhe, 
to attend. Tothe camp in the north it was a journey of two days and 
two nights, and it would take the fleetest runner the same time to return. 
To the home of their neighbors in the south it was as far. As these long 
journeys must be made on foot and running, they could not find a 
single young man in the camp who would volunteer for the task. The 
men counseled about the difficulty al] day and tried much persuasion 
on the youths, but none were found willing to make either journey. 

62. As night approached an old woman entered the medicine lodge 
and said: ‘I willsend my grandson as an akaninili.”. This old woman’s 
lodge was not far from where the medicine lodge was built and all 
present knew her grandson well. Whenever they visited her lodge he 
was always lying on the ground asleep; they never saw him go abroad 
to hunt, and they all supposed him to be lazy and worthless; so when 
she made her offer they only looked at one another and laughed. She 
waited awhile, and getting no response she again offered the services 
of her grandson, only to provoke again laughter and significant looks. 


412 THE MOUNTAIN CHANT. 


A third and a fourth time she made her proposal, and then she said: 
“Why do you not at least answer me? I have said that I will let my 
grandson take your messages to one of these camps and you langh at 
me and thank me not. Why is this?” Hearing her words, the chief 
medicine man, who came from a distant camp and did not know her, 
asked the men who were present who the woman was and what sort of 
a young man her grandson was; but again the men langhed and did 
not answer him either. He turned tothe old woman and said: “ Bring 
hither your grandson, that I may see him.” The woman answered: “It 
is already late; the night is falling and the way is long. It is of no use 
for you to see him to-night; let us wait untilthe morning.” “ Very well,” 
said the shaman; ‘bring him at dawn to-morrow.” She left the lodge 
promising to do as she was bidden; and the moment she was gone the 
long suppressed merriment of the men broke forth. They all laughed 
inordinately, made many jokes about the lazy grandson, and told the 
medicine man that there was no use in sending such a person with the 
message when the best runners among them did not dare to undertake 
the journey. ‘ Heis too weak and lazy to hunt,” said they; ‘he lives 
on seeds and never tastes flesh.” . 

63. As soon as there was light enough in the morning to discern ob- 
jects, a man who was looking out of the door of the medicine lodge cried 
out, ‘He comes,” and those inside laughed and waited. Presently Tla- 
¢es¢ini (such was the name of the old woman’s grandson) entered and 
sat down near the fire. Alllooked at him in astonishment. When last 
they saw him his hair was short and matted, as if it had not been 
combed or washed for three years, and his form was lean and bent. Now 
he appeared with thick glossy locks that fell below his knee; his limbs 
were large and firm looking; he held his head erect and walked like a 
youth of courage; and many said to one another, “This cannot be the 
same man.” In a little while another young man named Indsiskai 
(Radiating White Streaks), as fair and robust as the first, entered and sat 
down by the fire on the side opposite to where Tla¢es¢ini sat. The white 
earth and the charcoal for painting the akaninili were already pre- 
pared; so some of the young men in the lodge, when they beheld this 
pair of fine couriers, arose without a word of debate and began to paint 
the latter and to adorn their persons for the journey. When the toilet 
was done, the medicine man sent the couriers forth with many messages 
and injunctions and told them to blow on their whistles four times be- 
fore they got out of hearing of the lodge. Tlad¢esgini went to the north 
and Indsiskai to the south, and they walked so slowly that all the spee- 
tators again laughed and made merry, and many said: ‘They will 
never reach the camps whither we have sent them.” They passed out 
of sight just before the sun rose. Those whoremained in camp prepared 
to amuse themselves. They cleared the ground for the game of na%joj, 
and brought out their sticks and hoops. Some said: “ We will have 
plenty of time for play before the couriers return.” Others said: “At 








MATTHEWS. ] MYTH: TILE WONDERFUL COURIERS. 413 


yonder tree we saw Tla¢escgiui last. I suppose if we went there now 
we would find him asleep under it.” 

64. About the middle of the afternoon, while they were playing their 
ganies, one looked to the north, and, at a distance, he saw one of the 
messengers approaching them, and he cried out, ‘ Here comes Tla¢escini; 
he has wakened from his sleep and is coming back for something to 
eat.” A moment later Indsiskai was annonneed as approaching from 
the south. They both reached the door of the medicine lodge at the 
same time; but Tla¢es¢ini entered first, aanded his bag to the medicine 
man, and sat down in the same place where he sat when he entered 
in the morning. Indsiskai followed and, handing his bag to the sha- 
man, sat down opposite his companion. Now, many who were without 
tbronged into the lodge to enjoy the sport, and they laughed and whis- 
pered among themselves; but the couriers were grave and silent, and, 
while the medicine man opened the bags, they took off their ornaments 
and washed the paint from their bodies. In the bag of Tla¢es¢ini were 
found four ears of léjyipéj (corn baked in the husk underground). They 
were still hot from the fire, and the shaman broke them into fragments 
and passed the pieces around. From the bag of Indsiskai two pieces of 
noga‘ (the hard sugar of the maguey), such as the Apache make, were 
taken. When the young men had finished cleaning themselves, they 
passed out in silence, without a glance for any one. 

65. At nightfall they returued to the lodge, and entering, sat down 
in the west, one on each side of the medicine man, and Tla¢escini ad- 
dressed him, saying: ‘“*When we came to the lodge this afternoon, we 
did not give you an account of our journeys because the people who are 
with you are fools, who laughed when we came home from the long 
journey which they feared to undertake; but now we have come to tell 
you our adventures. 1,” continued Tla¢esgini, “ went to the north. On 
my way I met another messenger who was traveling from a distant 
cainp to this one to call you all to a dance in a circle of branches of a 
different kind from ours. When he learned my errand he tried to prevail 
on me toreturn hither and put off our dance till another day, so that we 
might attend their ceremony and that they in turn might attend ours; 
but I refused, saying our people were in haste to complete their dance. 
Then we exchanged bows and quivers as a sigu to our people that we 
had met and that what we would tell on our return was the truth. 
You observe that the bow and quiver I have now are not those with 
which I left this morning, We parted, and I kept on my way towards 
the north. 1t was yet early in the day when I reached Cogojila‘, where 
the Jicarilla and friendly Ute were encamped. There I sprinkled 
meal on the medicine man and gave him my message. When I arrived 
they were just opening a pit in which they had roasted corn, and they 
gaye me the ears which I have brought home. They promised to be 
here in our camp at the exd of the third day, which will be the night 
of our dance.” 


414 THE MOUNTAIN CHANT. 


66. When Tla¢escini had done speaking, Indsiskai gave the following 
account of himself: ‘*It was but a little while after sunrise when I 
reached Tse‘lakai-sila and entered the camps of the four tribes. In one 
they were just taking some noca‘ out of a pit, and they gave me those 
pieces which I brought home. I entered the lodge of a medicine man in 
each tribe, scattered on him the sacred meal, and announced to him 
when our dance would take place. They all promised to be here with 
their people on the end of the third day, which will be on the night we 
hold our ceremony.” 

67. When the akaninilis came to tell their adventures to the medi- 
cine man, they were beautifully attired. They wore earrings and neck- 
laces of turquoise, coral, and-rare shells. They had on embroidered 
blankets of a kind we see no longer, but the gods wore them in the an- 
cient days. They rustled like dry leaves. The blanket of one was 
black and that of the other was white. When they came out of the 
medicine lodge they went around among the huts and inclosures of those 
who were assembled, visiting the wives and the sweethearts of the silly 
men who had laughed at them in the morning; and everywhere the 
women smiled on the beautiful and well dressed youths. The next 
morning the men laughed and sneered at them no more, nor whispered 
in their presence, but glanced at them with sulky or shamefaced looks. 
During the day the akaninilis took part in the game of na*joj with 
those who once jeered at them, and won many articles of great value. 

68. On the afternoon of the third day following the one on which the 
akaninilis made their journeys, a great cloud of dust was obseryed on 
the northern horizon and a similar cloud was seen in the south. They 
grew greater and came nearer, and then the invited Indians began to 
arrive from both directions. They continued to come in groups until 
nightfall, when a great multitude had assembled to witness the dance. 
After the guests began to arrive the young men set to work to cut trees 
for the corral, and when the sun had set the building of the dark circle 
of branches began. While the young men were making the circle the 
old men were making speeches to the multitude, for the old men always 
love to talk when the young men are bard at work. It was the greatest 
corral that has ever been built in the Navajo country. It was as broad 
as from Canon Bonito to “the Haystacks” (a distance of about six 
miles), yet the visiting tribes were so numerous that they filled the cirele 
full. Inthe mean time the sounds of singing and of the drum were 
heard all around, for many different parties of dancers, who were to take 
part in the night’s entertainment, were rehearsing. 

69. There was some delay after the inclosure was finished before the 
first dancers made their appearance. A man entered the corral and 
made a speech begging the atsalei, or first dancers, to hasten, as there 
were so many parties from a distance who wished to perform during the 
night. Soon after he had spoken, the two atsalei who led in the dance 
of the great plumed arrow entered, and after them came six more, and 


eS es Se 


MATTHEWS. ] MYTH: THE FIRST MOUNTAIN CHANT. 415 


performed this healing dance over Dsilyi‘ Neyani as it is performed to 
this day. (See paragraph 131.) When this was concluded various groups 
from among the strangers entered, ove after another, and conducted their 
different alilis, or shows. which the Navajo then learned and have since 
practiced when they sing their songs in the dark circle of branches. 

70. When the dance began in the evening there was one of the invited 
tribes which, it was noticed, had not arrived. This was the Beqai, or 
Jiearilla, The Navajo asked the Ute where the missing ones were, and 
the Ute answered that they had passed the Jicarilla on the way; that 
the latter were coming, but had stopped to play a game of roulette, or 
na*joj, and were thus delayed. Shortly before dawn the Jicarilla came 
and entered the corral to exhibit their alili or show. It was a dance of 
the na*joj, for the wands and implements of the dance were the sticks 
and wheels used in playing that game. 

71. During the night a chief of the Navajo, while walking through 
the crowd, observed the grandmother of Tla¢es¢ini sitting on the ground. 
He approached her and said: ‘* Your grandson and his friend have done 
a great deed for us; they have made a long journey. Many doubted' 
whether they had really made it until we saw the multitude gathering 
jn our camp from the north and from the south in obedience to their 
summons. Now we know that they have spoken the truth. Tell me, I 
beg you, how they did this wonderful thing.” She answered: “They 
are ¢igini. My grandson for many years has risen early every morn- 
ing and run all around Tsotsil (Mount Taylor, or San Mateo) over and 
over again before sunrise. This is why the people have never seen him 
abroad during the day, but have seen him asleep in his hogan. Around 
the base of Tsdtsil are many tsena‘djihi (heaps of sacrificial stones). 
These were all made by my grandson; he drops a stone on one of these 
piles every time he goes round the meuntain.” 

72. When day began to dawn there were yet several parties who 
came prepared to give exhibitions, but bad not had a chance; still, at the 
approach of day the ceremonies had to cease. At this time, before the 
visitors began to leave the corral, the Navajo chief who had spoken 
with the grandmother arose and addressed the assembly. He told 
them all he knew about the swift couriers and all the grandmother had 
told him. He remarked that there were yet many who could not be- 
lieve that the young men had made the journey ; so, to satisfy all, he 
proposed that within twelve days they should have a race between the 
two fleet akaninili around the base of Tsotsil, if all would agree to re- 
assemble to witness it, and he begged them to invite their neighbors of 
the Pueblo and other tribes to come with them. Then other chiefs 
arose to speak. In the end the proposition of the Navajo chief was 
agreed to. All promised to return within eleven days and decided that 
the race should take place on the morning following. Then they dis- 
persed to their homes. 


A16 THE MOUNTAIN CHANT 


73. On the afternoon of the eleventh day, when they had reassembled 
according to their promises, the Navajo chief arose and addressed them. 
He invited the chiefs of the other tribes to come forward and complete 
the arrangements for the race. So the headmen all came together at 
the place where the Navajo was speaking, and, after some consultation, 
they agreed that the race should be around the peak of Tsotsil, but not 
around the entire range of mountains. The Navajo separated them- 
selves into one party and the alien tribes into another, the two parties 
standing at a little distance from one another. The aliens were given 
the first choice, and-they chose Indsiskai; therefore Tla¢es¢ini fell to the 
Navajo. Then the betting began. The stakes consisted of strings of 
coral, turquoise, and shell beads, of vessels of shells as large as the 
earthen basins of the Zuni, of beautifully tanned buckskins, of dresses 
embroidered with colored porcupine quills, and of suits of armor made 
of several layers of buckskin. The warriors in those days wore such 
armor, but they wear it no longer. The beads and shells were laid in 
one pile; the buckskins, the embroidered dresses, and the armor in 
another; and the piles were of vast size. 

74. The homes of these young meu were at Kag-saka¢ tsé“eqa (Lone 
Juniper Standing Between Clifis), now Cobero Canon. There is seen 
to day a rock shaped like a Navajo hogan. It stands near the wagon 
road and not far from the town of the Mexicans (Cobero). This rock 
was once the hut where Tla¢escini dwelt. Not far from it is another 
rock of similar appearanee, which once was the home of Indsiskai. For 
this reason the runners were started at the Lone Juniper. They ran 
towards the west and five of the fleetest runners among the assembled 
Indians set out at the same time to see how long they could keep up 
with them. By the time these five men had reached the spur of the 
mountain opposite Qosago (Hot Spring, Ojo de los Gallinos, San Ra- 
fael), the two champions were out of sight. Then the five turned back; 
but before they could return to the Lone Juniper the runners had got 
in and the race was decided. Tla¢escini had won by about twice the 
length of his own body, and all the wagered wealth of the other nations 
passed into the hands of the Navajo. 

75. When all was done the strangers were dissatisfied; they mourned 
over their losses and talked about the whole affair among themselves 
for a long time. Finally they decided to give the Navajo another 
challenge if the latter would agree to a longer racecourse, which should 
include all the foothills of the San Mateo range. The Navaje accepted 
the challenge and agreed to have the race at the end of another twelve 
days. Early on the eleventh day the strangers began to assemble 
from all quarters; they continued to arrive all day, and when night 
tell they were all in. Then the headmen addressed them, explaining 
all the conditions of the challenge and describing carefully the race- 
course decided on. The betting did not run as high this time as before. 


{ 





maTIuEWS] MYTH: THE TRANSLATION OF THE PROPHET. 417 


The Navajo bet only about one-half of what they won on the former 
race. Again they started the two runners, and in such time as you 
could just mark that the sun had moved, they were back at the goal; 
but this time Indsiskai, the champion of the alien races, won by about 
the same distance as he had lost on the previous occasion. 

76. Then the strangers were satisfied and said, ‘‘ We willtry no more. 
Many of our goods are still with the Navajo; but we have done well 
to rescue what we have.” One of the wise men among them said, “ Yes, 
you have done well, for had you lost the second race you would have lost 
with it the rain and the sunshine and all that makes life glad.” It is 
because the Navajo won so much wealth on this occasion that they 
have been richer than the neighboring races ever since. 

77. The ceremony cured Dsilyi‘ Neyani of all his strange feelings 
and notions. The lodge of his people no longer smelled unpleasant to 
him. But often he would say, “1 know I cannot be with you always, 
for the yays visit me nightly in my sleep. In my dreamsI am onecemore 
among them, and they beg me to return to them.” 

78. From Lejpahico the family moved to Dsildjoltcin¢i (Mountain of 
Hatred). Thence they went to Tsinbilahi( Woods on One Side), and from 
there to Tse‘yucahia‘ (Standing Rock Above). In this place they en- 
camped but one night, and next day they moved to @epé-aga¢ (Sheep 
Promontory), and went on to (epé ¢asi¢i (One Sheep Lying Down). Here 
again they camped for the night. Next day they traveled by Tse‘ateal- 
cali (Rock Cracked in Two) to Teoyajnaski¢ (Hill Surrounded With 
Young Spruce Trees), to Nigaqokai (White Ground), and to Tsetyistci¢ 
(Dipping Rocks, i. e., dipping strata), where they stopped to rest for the 
night. On the following day they journeyed to Gosakazi (Cold Water), 
in which place they encamped again. 

79. When the morning came, Dsilyi‘ Neyani said to his younger 
brother, “ Let us go out and try to shoot some deer, so that we may 
make beca‘ (deer masks), such as we wore in @epéntsa, where we killed 
so many deer.” The brothers departed on the hunt and came to a place 
ealled Dsil-lijin (Black Mountains), and they sat down on the side of 
the mountains looking towards Tsotsil. As they sat there Dsilyi‘ Ne- 
yani said, “ Younger brother, behold the ¢igini!” (holy ones); but the 
younger brother could see no one. Then he spoke again, “ Farewell, 
younger brother! From the holy places the gods come for me. You 
will never see me again; but when the showers pass and the thunder 
peals, ‘There,’ you will say, ‘is the voice of my elder brother, and 
when the harvest comes, of the beautiful birds and grasshoppers you 
will say ‘ There is the ordering of my elder brother.’” 

80. As he said these words he vanished. The younger brother looked 
all around, and seeing no one he started for his home. When he re- 
turned to his people he told them of the departure of Dsilyi‘ Neyani, 
and they mourned as for one dead. 

5 ETH——27 


418 THE MOUNTAIN CHANT. 


THE CEREMONIES OF DSILYIDJE QACAL, 


81. It has been my lot to see portions of these ceremonies at various 
times. The most complete view I had of them was during a visit made 
to a place called Nigotlizi (Hard Earth), some twenty miles northwest 
from Fort Wingate, New Mexico, and just within the southern bound- 


ary of the Navajo Reservation. This was the only occasion when I 


obtained full access to the medicine lodge on the later days of the cer- 
emonies and had an opportunity of observing the wonderful pictures 
on sand which are illustrated in color in the accompanying plates. 

82. On October 21, 1884, when I arrived at this place, the patient, 
for whose benefit the rites were celebrated and a few of her immediate 
relations were the only people encamped here. They occupied a single 
temporary shelter of brushwood, within a few paces of which I hada 
rude shelter erected for my own accommodation. The patient was a 
middleaged woman, who apparently suffered from no ailment whatever; 
she was stout, ruddy, cheerful, and did her full share of the household 
work every day; yet she was about to give away for these ceremonies 
sheep, horses, and other goods to the value of perhaps two hundred 
dollars. No ceremonies whatever were in progress when I came, Hy- 
erything, so the Indians said, was waiting for the qagali. (Paragraph 2.) 
Some men were engaged in building a corral for the sheep that were 
to be slaughtered for the guests, and some old women were grinding 
corn to feast the men who were to work in the medicine lodge, which 
had been completed six days before. 

83. This lodge was a simple conical structure of large, partly hewed 
pinon logs, set on end and inclined at an angle of about forty-five de- 
grees, So as to join one another on top, where they formed the apex of 
the lodge. The circle of logs was incomplete in the east, where the 
openings for the door and the smoke hole were. A passage, or entry, 
about five feet high and three feet wide, led from the body of the lodge 
to the outer doorway, where some blankets hung as portiéres. The 
frame of logs was covered with sods and loose earth to keep out wind 
and rain. Internally, the lodge was eight feet in height under the apex 
of the cone and on an average twenty-five feet in diameter at the base. 
The diameter was increased at the east (to allow for the entry) and at 
the north. The irregularity in the circumference in the north was at 
first conjectured to be a mere accident; but in the ceremonies of the 
first night its use became apparent as affording a hiding place for the 
man dressed in evergreens. (Paragraph 96.) 

84, THE FIRST FOUR DAYS’ ceremonies in this case had been per- 
formed during the previous year. Such a division of the work is some- 
times made, if more convenient for the patient and his friends, but usu- 
ally all is done in nine consecutive days. These first days have less of 
interest than the others. Early each morning, before eating, all who 
desire, men and women, enter the medicine lodge, where, in a stifling 


i. | 


BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY 


FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT PL, x 




















MEDICINE LODGE, VIEWED FROM THE SOUTH 





MATTHEWS. | CEREMONIES OF DSILYIDJE QACAL. 419 


atmosphere, seated around a fire of dry wood of four different kinds— 
cedar, big willow, little willow, and spruce—they take the hot emetic 
infusion of fifteen different kinds of plants mixed together. <A little 
sand is placed in front of each to receive the ejected material. After 
the emetic has acted the fire is removed, deposited some paces to the 
north of the lodge, and allowed to die out. Each devotee’s pile of sand 
is then removed (beginning with that of the man who sat in the east 
and going round the circle) and deposited, one after another, in a line 
north of the sacred fire. Each sueceeding day’s deposits are placed 
farther and farther north in a continuous line. Next all return to the 
lodge, which has been allowed to cool; the shaman spits on each some 
medicine which has been mixed with hoar-frost and is supposed to cool. 
When all have left the lodge, a new fire of ordinary wood is kindled, and 
the kethawns, or sacrificial sticks, appropriate to the day are made. 

85. Firra DAY. The chanter did not arrive until the afternoon of 
October 25. His ceremonies in the medicine lodge began on the morn- 
ing of the 24th. The forenoon was devoted to the preparation and sac- 
rifice of certain kethawns (kecan)— the sacrificial sticks, to the origin of 
which so much of the foregoing myth is devoted —and of sacrificial ciga- 
rettes. About eight o’clock the sick woman entered the medicine lodge, 
followed by the chanter. While she sat on the ground, with her limbs 
extended, he applied some powdered substance from his medicine bag to 
the soles of her feet, to her knees, breasts, shoulders, cheeks, and head, 
in the order named, and then threw some of it towards the heavens 
through the smoke hole. Before applying it to the head he placed some 
of it in her mouth to be swallowed. Then, kneeling on a sheep skin, 
with her face to the east, and holding the bag of medicine in her hand, 
she recited a prayer, bit by bit, after the chanter. The prayer being 
finished, she arose, put some of the medicine into her mouth, some on 
her head, and took her seat in the south, while the shaman went om 
with the preparation of the sacrifices. 

86, An assistant daubed a nice straight branch of cherry with some 
moistened herbaceous powder, after which he divided the branch into 
four pieces with a flint knife. Two of the pieces were each about two 
inches long and two each about four inches long. In each of the shorter 
ones he made one slight gash and in each of the longer ones two gashes. 
The sticks were then painted, a shred of yucca leaf being used for the 
brush, with rings of black, red, and white, disposed in a different order 
on each stick. The two cigarettes were made by filling sections of some 
hollow stem with a mixture of some pulverized plants. Such cigarettes 
are intended, as the prayers indicate, to be smoked by the gods. (Para- 
graph 88.) 

87. While the assistants were painting the sticks and making the 
cigarettes the old chanter placed on a sheep skin, spread on the floor 
woolly side down, other things pertaining to the sacrifice: five bundles, 
of assorted feathers, five small pieces of cotton sheeting to wrap the sacri- 


420 THE MOUNTAIN CHANT. 


fices in, and two round flat stones, each about four inches in diameter. 
The upper surfaces of these he painted, one blue and one black, and he 
bordered each with a stripe of red. When the kethawns and cigarettes 
were ready, the qacali distributed them along with the bunches of 
plumes, on the five pieces of cotton cloth, which were then rolled up 
around their contents, making five bundles of sacrifices. On the com- 
pletion of this work there was prayer, song, and rattling; the medicinal 
powder was applied to the body of the patient as before (paragraph 
85); two of the little sacrificial bundles were placed in her right hand, 
and while she held them she again repeated a prayer, following again 
phrase by phrase, or sentence by sentence, the words of the priest. 
The latter, when the prayer was ended, took the sacrifices from her 
hand and pressed them to different parts of her body in the order pre- 
viously observed, beginning with the soles of the feet and going up- 
wards to the head, but on this occasion touching also the back, and 
touching it last. Each time after pressing the sacrifices to her body he 
held them up to the smoke hole and blew on them in that direction a 
quick puff, as if blowing away some evil influence which the sacrifices 
were supposed to draw from her body. Then the three remaining bun- 
dles were put in her hands and the rites observed with the former bun- 
dles were repeated in every respect, including the prayer, which was 
followed by singing and rattling. When the song had ceased some of 
the assistants took the bundles of sacrifices out of the lodge, no doubt 
to bury them according to the method proper for those particular 
kethawns. The round painted stones were also carried out. 

88. The prayers which the woman repeated varied but little. They 
all sounded nearly alike. The night the shaman arrived he rehearsed 
some of these prayers with the woman, at her own hogan, to make her 
familiar with them before she repeated them in the medicine lodge. The 
prayer addressed to Dsilyi‘ Neyani, when she held in her hand the 
offering sacred to him, was as follows: 

Reared Within the Mountains! 

Lord of the Mountains! 

Young Man! 

Chieftain! 

I have made your sacrifice. 

I have prepared a smoke for you. 

My feet restore thou for me. 

My legs restore thou for me. 

My body restore thou for me. 

My mind restore thou for me. 

My voice restore thou for me. 
Restore all for me in beauty. 

Make beautiful all that is-before me, 
Make beautiful all that is behind me. 
Make beautiful my words. 

Tt is done in beauty. 

It is done in beauty. 

It is done in beauty. 

It is done in beauty. (Paragraphs 261-4.) 





Ww 


SAU OF EBTHNOLOC 


2 


FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT PL, X1 




















MEDICINE LODGE, VIEWED FROM THE EAST. 





4 
f . 
ai’ 





MATTHEWS. ] CEREMONIES: PRAYER AND SACRIFICE. 421 


59. The next part of the ceremonies (or, shall I say, the treatment?) 
was a fumigation. The medicine man took from the fire a large glow- 
ing coal, placed it beside the woman, and scattered on it some powdered 
substance which instantly gave forth a dense smoke and a strong fra- 
grauce that filled the lodge. The woman held her face over the coal 
and inhaled the fumes with deep inspirations. When the smoke no 
longer rose the coal was quenched with water and carried out of the 
lodge by the chief, Manuelito, probably to be disposed of in some estab- 
lished manner. Then the woman left the lodge and singing and rattling 
were resumed. 

90. While the rites just described were in progress some assistants 
were busy with other matters. One made, from the spotted skin of a 
fawn, two bags in which the akaninilis or couriers were to carry their 
meal on the morrow’s journey. Another brought in and hung over 
the doorway a bundle of dry, withered plants which he had just gath- 
ered. Glancing up at them I recognized the Gutierrezia and the Bou- 
teloua. The bundle may have contained the other plants mentioned in 
the myth (paragraph 44). They were hung up there till the next day, 
to be then used in a manner which will be described (paragraph 101). 

91. The sheepskin on which the sacrifices had been placed was taken 
away and a blanket was spread on the ground to reveive some more 
sacred articles from the bag of the chanter. These were five long 
notched wands, some tail feathers of the wild turkey, some small downy 
feathers of the eagle, and some native mineral pigments—yellow ocher, 
a ferruginous black, and a native blue. With the pigments the assist- 
ants painted the notched wands; with the plumes the chanter trimmed 
them. (See Fig. 51 and Plate XI.) Then they were called gobol¢a, a 
word of obscure etymology, or in¢ia‘, which signifies sticking up or 
standing erect. They are called in this paper “‘ plumed wands.” 

92. While some were making the cobolea others busied themselves 
grinding, between stones, large quantities of pigments, coarser than 
those referred to above, to be used in making the sand pictures or dry 
paintings of the ceremony. They made five colors: black, of charcoal; 
white, of white sandstone; red, of red sandstone; yellow, of yellow 
sandstone; and “ blue,” of the black and white, mixed in proper propor- 
tions; of course this was a gray, but it was their only cheap substitute 
for the cerulean tint, and, combined with the other colors on the sanded 
floor, in the dim light of the lodge, it could not easily be distinguished 
from a true blue. It may be remarked in passing that the Navajo 
apply to many things which are gray the term they use for blue (colij); 
thus the gray fox is called mai-colij (blue coyote) and a gray sheep is 
called a blue sheep. Yet that they make a distinction between these 
colors is, I think, fairly evident from the fact that in painting small 
articles, such as kethawns and masks, they use the more costly articles of 
turquoise, malachite, and indigo. These coarse pigments for the dry 
paintings were put tor convenience on curved pieces of pinon bark. 


422 THE MOUNTAIN CHANT. 


From time to time, during this and the following days, as the heaps of 
colored powder diminished under the hands of the artists, more stones 
and charcoal were pulverized to replenish them. 

93. About noon they cleared off that portion of the floor of the lodge 
which lay west of the fire, and brought, in blankets, a quantity of dry 
sand, which they spread out over the cleared portion of the floor in a 
layer of the nearly constant depth of 
three inches. They smoothed the sur- 
face with the broad oaken battens used 
in weaving. Now for a time all opera- 
tions were suspended in the lodge while 
the chanter went out to plant the ¢o- 
bolea, or plumed wands, in front of the 
medicine lodge, and to lay beside them 
the collars of beaver skins and the sym- 
bols for wings which the couriers were 
to wearnext day. (Fig. 51.) These ar- 
ticles, it was said, were placed outside 
as a sign to the gods that the holy pict- 
ures were being drawn; butitis not im- 
probable that they were intended also as 
a sign to uninitiated mortals. However 
5.51. The cobolea, or plumed wands, that may be, they were taken in as soon 
n from the door of the medicine ag the picture was finished. The great 

painting was begun about 1 o’clock p.m., 
was finished about 3, and was allowed to remain until the ceremo- 
nies at pight were concluded. It will be described later. (Paragraphs 
160 et seq.) 

94. When the picture was completed food was brougit in, and there 

ras a good deal of eating and sleeping and smoking done. Being in- 
formed that nothing more would be done until after nightfall, I went 
to my own shelter, to elaborate some of my more hasty sketches while 
matters were still fresh in my mind. At 7 o’ciock a messenger came to 
tell me that ceremonies were about to be resumed. During my absence 
the principal character in the night’s performance —a man arrayed in 
evergreens— had been dressed. 

95. I found, on returning to the lodge, a number of spectators seated 
around close to the edge of the apartment. The fire burned in the 
center. The sick woman, with some companions, sat in the south. 
The gagali, with a few assistants who joined him in singing and shaking 
rattles, was seated at the north, at the place where the circumference 
of the lodge was enlarged. (Paragraph 83.) There was a space about 
two feet wide and six feet long between them and the wall, or roof if you 
choose so to call it, of the lodge. I was assigned a place in the west. 
The sick woman was directed to move from the position she occupied 








lodge. 





MATTHEWS. j CEREMONIES: PAINTING PICTURE. 423 


in the south, and sit, with her face to the east, at the junction of the 
two white serpents that cross one another on the picture. (Plate XV.) 

96. When she was seiited the qacali began a song, accompanied by 
the usual rattling and drumming. Ata certain part of the song the 
chanter was seen to make a slight signal with his drumstick, a rapid 
stroke to the rear, when instantly a mass of animate evergreens—a 
moving tree, it seemed—sprang out from the space behind the singers 
and rushed towards the patient. A terrifying yell from the spectators 
greeted the apparition, when the man in green, acting as if frightened 
by the noise, retreated as quickly as he came, and in a moment nothing 
could be seen in the space behind the singers but the shifting shadows 
cast by the fire. He was so thoroughly covered with spruce twigs that 
nothing of his form save his toes could be distinguished when he rushed 
outin the full glare of the fire. This scene was repeated three times, at 
due intervals. 

97. Some time after the third repetition, the chanter arose, without 
interrupting his song, and proceeded to erase the picture with his rat- 
tle. He began with the mountain in the west (paragraph 162), which 
he completely leveled; next in order he erased the track of the bear; 
next, the hole in the center; and then, one by one, the various other 
figures, ending with the serpents on the outside. In erasing the ser- 
pents, he began with the figures in the east and followed the apparent 
course of the sun, ending with the figures in the north. When the pict- 
ure was completely obliterated, the sand on which it had been drawn 
was collected, put in a blanket, and carried out of doors, to be thrown 
away. 

98. Then the sick woman was lifted by two other women and laid on 
her side where the picture had been, with her face to the east. While 
she lay there, the medicine man, amid much singing, walked around 
her, inscribed on the earth at her feet a straight line with his finger 
and erased it with his foot, inscribed at her head a cross and rubbed it 
out in the same manner, traced radiating lines in all directions from her 
body and obliterated them, gave her a light massage, whistled over her 
from head to foot and all around her, and whistled towards the smoke 
hole, as if whistling something away. These acts were performed in 
the order in which they are recorded. His last operation on her was a 
severe massage, in which he kneaded every part of her body forcibly 
and pulled her joints hard, whereat she groaned and made demonstra- 
tions of suffering. This concluded, she rose. A blanket was spread on 
the ground on the north of the fire, near where the man in evergreens 
was concealed. At the last appearance of the man in evergreens the 
woman fell back apparently paralyzed and suffering from difficulty of 
breathing, all of which was probably feigned, but was supposed to be 
a sign that the right remedy or ceremony for her ailment bad been found 
and that none other need be tried. The medicine man now proceeded 
to restore her to consciousness by drawing zigzag lines from her body 


424 THE MOUNTAIN CHANT. 


east and west and straight lines north and south, like their symbols 
for the chain and sheet lightnings, by stepping over her in different 
directions, and by rattling. When she had apparently recovered, he 
pressed the plumed wands and the symbols for wings to different parts 
of her body, in the order and with the ceremonies described when 
referring to previous application made to her body. 

99, There were no more ceremonies that night. JI remained in the 
medicine lodge until it was quite late. The men occupied their time in 
singing, rattling, gambling, and smoking. After a while some grew 
weary and lay down to sleep. Being repeatedly assured that nothing 
more would happen until the whistle sounded in the morning, I left the 
lodge to roll myself in my blankets. Yet frequently during the night, 
fearing I might have been de- 
ceived, I stealthily arose and 
visited the medicine lodge, only. 
to find all slumbering soundly. 

100. StxrH DAY. At five in 
the morning (Saturday, Octo- 
ber 25) the whistle sounded and 
I hastened to the medicine 
lodge. There was much to be 
done; the couriers were to be 
dressed and sent on their way, 
and a large picture was to be 
painted; so the work had to be- 
gin early. 

101. The first thing done was 
to burn to charcoal the bundle 
of plants which had been gath- 
ered on the previous morning 
and hung over the door of the 
lodge inside. (Paragraph 90.) 
The charcoal was used in paint- 
ing the limbs of the akaninilis 
or couriers. A basin of water 
containing soap root or amolé 
(the root of Yucea baccata and 
other species of yucca) was 
brought in, and after the medi- 
cine man had dabbed them with 
alittle of the suds the akaninilis- 
elect washed themselves with 
it from head to foot, cleaning 

Fic. 52. Ak«aninili ready for the journey. their hair well. When the bath 
was done, they were dabbed by the qagali with some other mixture con- 
tained in a waterproof wicker basin and were made to inhale the fra- 


























MATTHEWS. ] CEREMONIES: PREPARING COURIERS. 425 


grant fumes of some vegetable powder scattered on a live coal, which, 
as usual, was “ put out,” in a double sense, when the fumigation was 
over. Then the young men were dressed and adorned to look like 
Dsilyi‘ Neyani after his toilet in the house of the butterflies. (Paragraph 
44.) Their legs and forearms were painted black, to represent the storm 
cloud. The outer aspects of these members were decorated with white 
zigzag streaks, to indicate the white lightning. Their faces were painted 
partly white and small white spots were scattered over their bodies. 
Downy eagle feathers were fastened to their hair; necklaces of shell and 
coral were hung @round their necks, and over these were laid collars of 
beaver skin, with whistles attached, which had lain in front of the lodge 
the day before, near the plumed wands. (Paragraph 93, Fig. 51.) Small 
objects to represent wings were tied to their arms. Each was given 
one of the fawn skin bags (paragraph 90) with corn meal in it. In the 
hand of the akaninili who was to go to the south was placed one of the 
cobolea, or plumed wands, whose stem was painted black, the color of 
the north, as a sign to all he might meet that he was a duly authorized 
messenger from a medicine lodge in the north. In the hand of the 
other akaninili was placed a blue shafted wand, to show that he came 
from the south. Thus equipped they were all ready for the journey. 
(Fig. 52.) 

102. The chanter gave them his messages, telling them where to go, 
what places they were to visit, what other chanters they were to see, 
what dancers they were to invite, and what gifts they were authorized 
to offer to the visiting performers for their trouble. Having given 
these special instructions, he closed with the general instructions, which 
are always given to the akaninili, as follows: 

These [pointing to the eagle feathers on the head] will make for you a means of ris- 
Ing as you progress. 

These [pointing to the wing symbols on the arm] will bear you onward. 

This [pointing to the collar of beaver skin] will be a means of recognition for you. 
For this reason it hangs around your neck. 

Sprinkle meal across a little valley, across a big arroyo. 

Across the roots of a tree sprinkle meal and then you may step over. 

Sprinkle meal across a flat rock. 

Then the plumed wand. -For this purpose you carry it, that they will recognize 
you as coming from a holy place. 

103. The akaninili on his journey scatters meal before him as directed 
in these charges. He also scatters it on the medicine men whom he 
visits, and for this reason he is called akaninili, which signifies meal 
sprinkler. 

104. When the last word of the instructions was uttered, the couriers 
departed, oue to the north and one to the south. It was not later than 
7 o'clock when they left. As soon as they were gone, the work of paint- 
ing the picture appropriate to the day was begun. It was much more 
elaborate than the painting of the previous day. Although a dozen 
men worked on it, it was not finished until two o’clock. About the time 


426 THE MOUNTAIN CHANT. 


it was done, the akaninili from the south returned. He was carefully 
divested of all his ornaments. The white paint was scraped carefully 
from his body and preserved in the medicine bags of those who scraped 
it off. Then he was led out of the lodge. 

105. When the picture was finished, the shaman, having applied pol- 
len in three places to each god, stuck around it in the ground, at regular 
intervals, the three plumed wands which had stood before the door of 

-the lodge all day and the wand which the akaninili from the south had 
just brought back with him. This wand he placed at the south of the 
picture, and laid beside it the collar, wings, and plumes which the aka- 
ninili had worn. The fifth, or north, wand was still absent with the 
courier who went to the north. 

106. All was ready now for the treatment of the sick woman. She 
was sent for, and a crier went to the door of the lodge to announce 
that song and ceremony were to begin. Accompanied by another 
woman, she entered, carrying a basket with corn meal init. This she 
sprinkled lightly over the picture and then handed it to some of the 
assistants, who finished the work she had begun by strewing the mea] 
plentifully on the figures. She sat on the form of the god in the east, 
facing the door, with her feet extended, and her companion sat on the 
figure of the cornstalk in the southeast. (Plate XVI.) In the mean 
time the medicine man had made a cold infusion in an earthen bow] and 
placed it on the hands of the rainbow figure (paragraph 169), laying over 
ita brush or sprinkler made of feathers, with a handle of colored yarn. 
When the women were seated, the chanter dipped his brush in the solu- 
tion; sprinkled the picture plentifully; touched each divine figure with 
the moistened brush in three places—brow, mouth, and chest; admin- 
istered the infusion to the women, in two alternate draughts to each; 
drained the bowl himself; and handed it to the bystanders, that they 
might finish the dregs and let none of the precious stuff go to waste. 
Next came the fumigation. The woman whom we have designated as the 
companion rose from her seat on the picture and sat on the ground be- 
side the door. The principal patient retained her seat on the eastern 
god. Near each a live coal was laid on the ground. On the coal a 
strong scented but rather fragrant mixture was thrown, and as the 
fumes arose the women waved them towards their faces and breathed 
them in as before. The coal was extinguished and carefully removed, 
as on previous occasions. The application of the sacred dust to the 
body of the patient followed. The shaman moistened his hands with 
saliva and pressed them to the feet of all the gods. Some of the pow- 
der, of course, stuck to his palms. This he applied to the feet of the 
patient. Thus he took dust from the knees, abdomens, chests, shoul- 
ders, and heads of the figures and applied it to corresponding parts of 
the patient’s form, makiug a strong massage with each application. 

107. When the patient had departed inany of the spectators advanced 
to the picture and gathered the corn pollen (paragraphs 105 and 112), now 





MATTHEWS.| CEREMONIES: TREATMENT OF THE PATIENT. 427 


rendered doubly sacred, and put it in their medicine bags. Some took 
portions of the remaining dust from the figures, after the manner of 
the shaman, and applied it to ailing portions of their persons. If the 
devotee had disease in his legs, he took dust from the legs of the fig- 
ures; if in his head, the dust was taken from the heads of the figures, 
and so on. 

108. By the time they were all done the picture was badly marred ; 
yet its general form and some of the details were quite distinguishable. 
Then it became the province of the chanter to completely obliterate it. 
He began with the white god in the east and took in turn the figures 
in the southeast (corn), south, southwest, west, center, northwest, north, 
and northeast. Next, the figure of the rainbow was erased from foot 
to head, and, on his way, the chanter knocked down, with rather vicious 
blows, the plumed wands which stood up around the picture. When 
he came to the round figure in the center he dug up a cup which had 
been buried there. He erased the picture with a long slender wand 
and sang in the mean time, to the accompaniment of the rattling of his 
assistants, a plaintive chant in a minor key, which was perhaps the 
most melodious Indian song I ever heard. All was over at half past 
2 in the afternoon. 

109. Later in the day it was announced that the other akaninili was 
approaching from the north. He could then be observed about a mile 
away in an open plain. As he advanced the sound of his whistle was 
heard. At exactly half past 4 he entered the medicine lodge, where 
the chanter motioned him to a seatin the south. Singing and rattling 
were at once begun and the akaninili was divested of his trappings in the 
. following order: head plumes, beaver collar, necklace, right wing, left 
wing, belt, sash, moceasins. The white paint was removed and pre- 
served as on the former occasion. He was led out of the lodge, where 
he was well washed from head to foot in a hot decoction of the deter- 
gent amolé and dried with corn meal. Two large blood blisters were 
to be seen on the inner aspects of his thighs, brought on by the friction 
of his breechcloth in running. He said that he had run constantly 
when not in sight from our camp, had traveled a long way since morn- 
ing, and was very tired. It seems to be the custom with the akaninilis 
to walk slowly when near camp and to run when out of sight, probably 
to follow the mythic examples of Tla¢escini and Indsiskai. (Paragraph 
63.) 

110, With the toilet of the akaninili the ceremonies of the day ended. 
He returned to the lodge te relate his adventures and get some food. 
During the day visitors arrived occasionally from distant camps. In 
the afternoon there were several young men present, who busied them- 
selves in grubbing and clearing the ground where the corral was to be 
built and the great dance of the last night was to be held. I re- 
mained in the lodge until it was quite late, and I frequently rose during 
the night to see if anything was going on; but the night passed with- 
out event, like the previous one. 


428 THE MOUNTAIN CHANT. 


111. SEVENTH DAY. The painting of the picture and the treatment 
of the sick woman were the only works performed on this day (Sun- 
day, October 26). The whistle sounded from the lodge at 6 a. m., 
but already the plumed wands and the beaver collars had been placed 
before the door of the medicine lodge and the sand for the groundwork 
of the picture had been brought in. As the picture (Plate XVIJ) was to 
be larger than those which preceded it, the fire was moved quite near 
to the door; the heated earth which lay under the fire in its former 
position was dug up and replaced with cold earth, probably for the 
comfort of the artists. 

112. The work of the painters was begun soon after 6 a.m. and was 
not completed until about 2 p.m. About a dozen men were engaged 
on it, and it occupied them, as we have seen, about eight hours. As 
usual, the qacali did very little of the manual labor; but he constantly 
watched the work and frequently criticised and corrected it. When the 
painting was done, it became his duty to apply the sacred corn pollen 
to the brow, mouth, and chest of each of the gods and to set up the 
bounding ¢obolea or plumed wands. After this he placed a bowl of 
water on the left hand of the white god—the form second from the 
north— threw into it some powdered substance to make a cold decoc- 
tion, and Jaid the sprinkler on top of it. (Paragraph 106.) 

113. The whistle was blown. The herald announced that all was 
ready. The sick woman and her companion entered, and one atter 
the other cast meal upon the floor. The former took off her moccasins 
and sat on the ground near the door while a song was sung. Then she 
sat on the form of the white god, her companion sat on the form of the 
blue god, and the singing and rattling were resumed. Without inter- 
rupting his song the chanter sprinkled the picture with the infusion, 
applied the moistened sprinkler to the breast, head, and brow of each 
of the gods in the following order: white, blve, yellow, black, and sat 
down to finish his chant. He administered the decoctions to his patient 
in two draughts, to her companion in two draughts, to himself (honest 
physician!) in the same manner, and gave as before (paragraph 106) 
the dregs to the bystanders. He applied the dust from different parts 
of the divine figures to the sick woman, in much the same manner as 
on the previous day, and while doing this he obliterated the pictures of 
the little animals over the head of the white god. The fumigation of 
both women was repeated with exactly the same rites as on the second 
day, and the fumes had precisely the same odor on this occasion as on 
that. When the coals were extinguished and taken out, the chanter 
said to the women, “kac” (now), whereat they arose and left the lodge. 

114. As soon as they were gone the work of obliteration began. The 
figures of the gods were rubbed out in the usual order (white, blue, 
yellow, black, rainbow), the erasure in each case proceeding from foot 
to head. The plumed wands fell as before, simultaneously with the 
destruction of the rainbow. The sand was carried out at half past 2 
o’clock and no further rites were performed during the day. 


a 


EEE 


—— Ase 


MATTHEWS. ] +» CEREMONIES: GREAT WOOD PILE. 429 


115. EigHtH pay. The picture painted on Monday (October 27) 
was of a simple character, and hence did not occupy much time. The 
work was begun at 7 a.m. and was finished at 10 a.m. Of the four 
shorter or interior arrows (Plate XVIII), that which stands second 
from the north was regarded as the arrow of the east and was begun 
first. On this arrow the sick woman was placed, sitting with her face 
to the east, when she came to be treated and fumigated. The bowl of 
infusion was laid on the point of the arrow immediately to her left, 
regarded as the arrow of the north. The medicine man put the pollen 
on the base, on the red cross lines near the center, and on the white tips. 
All the ceremonies which took place between the completion and the 
obliteration of the picture (the planting of the five plumed wands, the 
sprinkling of the picture with meal, the sprinkling and administration 
of the infusion, the application of the colored dust to the person of 
the patient, the fumigation of the two women, the whistling, the sing- 
ing, and rattling) were essentially the same as those observed on the 
previous day. In taking the dust from the picture, however, the sha- 
man applied his hands only to the bases of the arrows. The ceremony 
of obliteration was also a repetition of the rites of the previous day. 

116. The building of the great stack of wood (Fig. 53) which was to 
furnish the fire in the center of the corral on the last night went on 





Fic. 53. The great wood pile. 


simultaneously with the painting of the picture. Both tasks were 
begun and ended about the same time. The wood in the big pile was 
dead, long seasoned juniper and cedar, fuel of the most inflammable 
character. The pile was about twelve feet high and sixty paces in cir- 


430 THE MOUNTAIN CHANT. 


cumference. Large quantities of this dry wood were also brought and 
placed outside the space allotted to the corral, to replenish the fires 
when needed. 

117. In the afternoon there were no ceremonies in the medicine lodge. 
The gacali and his assistants took a half holiday, and not without de- 
serving it, for they had wrought well for three days and they had a long 
day’s work and a long night’s work still before them. A large number of 
people had by this time assembled, and from time to time more arrived. 
Throughout the sparse grove which surrounded us, little temporary 
corrals and huts of boughs were going up in every direction. In more 
secret spots in the rugged walls of a canon, about half a mile from the 
medicine lodge, other shelters were erected, where visiting performers 
were to prepare themselves on the last night. Many young men were 
busy in the afternoon cutting down the trees and lopping off the 
branches which were to form the great corral (the ilnasjin, the dark 
circle of branches) on the next day. Some of the visiting women were 
busy grinding meal and attending to different household duties; others 
played cards or engaged in the more aboriginal pastime of az¢ileil, a 
game played with three sticks and forty stones, the latter for counters. 

118. The friends of the sick woman prepared the alkan, a great corn 
cake baked in the earth, the manufacture of which gave evidence of 
the antiquity of the process. The batter was mixed in one large hole 
in the ground lined with fresh sheepskin. It was baked in another 
hole in which a fire had been burning for many hours, until the sur- 
rounding earth was well heated. The fire was removed ; the hole lined 
with corn husks; the batter ladled in and covered with more corn- 
husks; hot earth and hot coals were spread over all. The cake was 
not dug up until the following day, and was designed chiefly for the 
special entertainment of those who were at work in the medicine lodge. 

119. NINTH DAY (UNTIL SUNSET). On Tuesday (October 28) the 
work in the lodge consisted in preparing certain properties to be used 
in the ceremonies of the night. These were the wands to be used in the 
first dance, the katso-yisgan or great plumed arrows, and the trees 
which the dancers pretended to swallow. 

120. The wand of the nahikai was made by paring down a straight 
slender stick of aromatic sumac, about three feet long, to the general 
thickness of less than half an inch, but leaving a head or button at one 
end. <A ring was fashioned from a transverse slice of some hollow or 
pithy plant, so that it would slide freely up and down the slender wand, 
but would not pass over the head. Eagle down was secured to the 
wooden head and also to the ring. In the dance (paragraph 129) the 
eagle down on the stick is burned off in the fire while the ring is held 
in the palm of the hand. When the time comes for the wand to grow 
white again, as the name nahikai expresses it, the.ring is allowed to: 
leave the palm and slide to the other end of the stick. 

121. The great plumed arrows were deceptions somewhat similar in 
character to the wands. One-half of the arrow was made of a slender 





MATTHEWS. | CEREMONIES: PREPARING IMPLEMENTS. 431 


hard twig of cliff rose; the other half was formed of some pithy suf- 
fruticose herb which I could not determine satisfactorily, as I saw only 
the cut sections and was not permitted to handle these. The pith was 
removed so as to allow the wooden part to move into the herby part 
with a telescopic mechanism. The herbaceous portion was so covered 
with feathers that nothing could be seen of its surface. A large stone 
arrowhead was attached to the wooden shaft. When the actor pre- 
tended to swallow this he merely held the stone point firmly between 
his teeth and forced the upper or plumed shaft down on the lower or 
wooden shaft. It was an excellent deception, and presented to the or- 
dinary observer all the appearance of genuine arrow swallowing. 

122. The pinon saplings, which the dancers also pretended to swallow, 
had no deceptive arrangement. They were slender little trees trimmed 
at the butt into a broad, thin, wedge shaped point, which was carefully 
smoothed by rubbing it with sandstone, so that no offensive splinters 
should present themselves to the lips of the dancers. The smooth end 
was painted red, probably to make the spectators, at night, by the un- 
certain firelight, suppose that the dissemblers had torn their throats in 
their great efforts. Sometimes the saplings have all their branches 
removed, and are then trimmed with cross pieces and circles of ever- 
green sprays. In most cases, however, I have seen the sapling used in 
its natural condition. 

123. As each set of implements was completed there was a ceremony 
with singing and rattling, the men who were to use them at night 
partook of powdered medicines on their extended tongues, from the 
hands of the chanter, and then practiced themselves in the use of the 
implements. Although they well knew the deceptive nature of these 
articles and fully understood the frauds they were preparing to per- 
petrate on the public, these young men seemed to view the whole work 
with high reverence aud treat it with the greatest seriousness. For 
instance, when, in the secrecy of the lodge, they went through the 
motions of swallowing the trees they showed indubitable signs of fear: 
all looked anxious, some trembled quite perceptibly, and one looked as 
pale as a live Indian can look. They probably dreaded the displeasure 
of the gods if all were not done well. 

124, LAST NIGHT. Just after sunset the old chanter posted himself 
some paces to the east of the great woodpile, on the spot where the gate 
of the corral was to be, and began a song. Simultaneous with the begin- 
ning of the song was the commencement of the building of the dark 
circle. All the young and middleaged men in camp assisted. They 
dragged the branches from where they had been cut down in the neigh- 
boring woods and put them in position in the cirele with great celerity. 
The work was all done in less than an hour, during which time the 
chanter ceased not for an instant his songand rattle. When the fence 
was finished to his satisfaction he stopped his song and the labors of 
the workmen ceased with thesound. When finished the corral averaged 


432 THE MOUNTAIN CHANT. 


about forty paces in diameter, and the fence was about eight feet high, 
with an opening left in the east about ten feet wide. 

125. The moment the dark circle of branches was finished it inclosed 
sacred ground. Any dog who dared to enter was chased out with 
shouts and missiles. The man or woman who came must, on the first 
occasion, pass around to the left, i. e., to the south of the great wood- 
pile. No one was allowed to peep through the fence or look over the 
edge of it to witness the ceremonies. That part of the auditorium was 
reserved for the spirits of the bears and other ancestral animal gods. 
No horse might be led into the inclosure until after sunrise next 
morning, when the fence was razed and all became common soil once 
more. 

126. When the night began to fall many of the visitors moved all 
their goods into the corral and lighted there a number of small fires close 
to the fence, temporarily abandoning their huts and shelters outside. 
Those who did not move in left watchers to protect their property ; for 
there are thieves among the Navajo. The woods around the corral 
were lighted up in various directions by the fires of those who had not 
taken their property into the great inclosure and of parties who were 
practicing dances and shows of an exoteric character. 

127. The nocturnal performances of this evening (Tuesday, October 
28, 1884) were as meager as any I have seen within the dark circle of 
branches. The best show I ever witnessed in the circle was one which 
took place at Keam’s Cafion, Arizona, on the 5th of November, 1882. 
For this reason I will make the notes taken on the latter occasion the 
basis of my description of the “corral dance,” adding as I proceed 
such comments as may be justified by subsequent observation and in- 
formation. 

128. At 8 o’clock a band of musicians which I will call the orchestra 
entered, sat down beside one of the small fires in the west, and began 
to make various vocal and instrumental noises of a musical character, 
which continued with scarcely any interruption until the close of the 
dance in the morning. At the moment the music began the great cen- 
tral fire was lighted, and the conflagration spread so rapidly through 
the entire pile that in a few moments it was enveloped in great flames. 
A storm of sparks flew upward to the height of a hundred feet or more, 
and the descending ashes fell in the corral like a light shower of snow. 
The heat was soon so intense that in the remotest parts of the inclos- 
ure it was necessary for one to screen his face when he looked towards 
the fire. And now all was ready to test the endurance of the dancers 
who must expose, or seem to expose (paragraph 149), their naked breasts 
to the torrid glow. 

129, First dance (Plate XII). When the fire gave out its most in- 
tense heat, a warning whistle was heard in the outer darkness, and a 
dozen forms, lithe and lean, dressed only in the narrow white breech- 
cloth and moccasins, and daubed with white earth until they seemed a 
group of living marbles, came bounding through the entrance, yelping 





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MATTHEWS] CEREMONIES: DANCE OF NAHIKAI. 433 


like wolves and slowly moving around the fire. As they advanced in 
single file they threw their bodies into divers attitudes —some grace- 
ful, some strained and difficult, some menacing. Now they faced the 
east, now the south, the west, the north, bearing aloft their slender 
wands tipped with eagle down, holding and waving them with surpris- 
ing effects. Their course around the fire was to the left, i. e., from the 
east to the west, by way of the south, and back again to the east by 
way of the north, a course taken by all the dancers of the night, the 
order never being reversed. When they had encircled the fire twice 
they began to thrust their wands toward it, and it soon. became evident 
that their object was to burn off the tips of eagle down; but owing to 
the intensity of the heat it was difficult to accomplish this, or at least 
they acted well the part of striving against such difficulty. One would 
dash wildly towards the fire and retreat; another would lie as close to 
the ground as a frightened lizard and endeavor to wriggle himself up 
to the fire; others sought to catch on their wands the sparks flying in 
the air. One approached the flaming mass, suddenly threw himself on 
his back with his head to the fire, and swiftly thrust his wand into the 
flames. Many were the unsuccessful attempts; but, at length, one by 
one, they all succeeded in burning the downy balls from the ends of 
their wands. As each accomplished this feat it became his next duty 
to restore the ball of down. Tbe mechanism of this trick has been 
described (paragraph 120), but the dancer feigned to produce the won- 
derful result by merely waving his wand up and down as he continued 
to run around the fire. When he succeeded he held his wand up in tri- 
umph, yelped, and rushed out of the corral. The last man pretended 
to have great difficulty in restoring the down. Wien at last he gave 
his triumphant yell and departed it was ten minutes to 9. The dance 
had lasted twenty minutes. 

150. In other repetitions of this ceremony the writer has witnessed 
more of burlesque than on this occasion. Sometimes the performers have 
worn immense false mustaches, exaggerated imitations of spectacles 
and of other belongings of their white neighbors. Sometimes the 
dance has assumed a character which will not be deseribed in this place 
(paragraph 146). Itis called nahikai-alil. The former word signifies ‘ it 
becomes white again” and refers to the reappearance of the eagle down. 
The show is said to have been introduced among the Navajo at the 
great corral dance mentioned in the myth (paragraphs 69-72) by a tribe 
from the south named (ildjéhe. Itis no essential part of the rites of the 
dark cirele, yet I have never known it to be omitted, probably because 
it is a most suitable dance for the time when the fire is the hottest. 

131. Second dance. After an interval of three-quarters of an hour, 
the dance of the kAtso-yisgan, the great plumed arrow, the potent 
healing ceremony of the night, began. There were but two performers. 
They were dressed and arrayed much like the akaninili, but they bore 
no meal bags, wore no beaver collars, and the parts of their bodies that 

5 ETH——28 


434 THE MOUNTAIN CHANT. 


were not painted black —legs and forearms—were daubed with white 
earth. Instead of the wand of the akaninili, each bore in his hand one 
of the great plumed arrows. While they were making the usual circuits 
around the fire, the patient (a man on this occasion) was placed sitting 
on a buffalo robe in front of the orchestra. They halted before the pa- 





Fic. 54. Dancer holding up the great plumed Fic. 55. Dancer ‘‘swallowing” the great plumed 
arrow. arrow. 


tient; each dancer seized his arrow between his thumb and forefinger 
about eight inches from the tip, held the arrow upto view, giving acoyote- 
like yelp, as if to say, “So far will I swallow it” (Fig. 54), and then ap- 
peared to thrust the arrow, slowly and painfully, down his throat (Fig. 
55) as far as indicated. While the arrows seemed still to be stuck in 
their throats, they danced a chassé, right and left, with short, shuffling 





ee a a a 


MATTHEWS.] CEREMONIES: DANCE OF GREAT PLUMED ARROW. 435 


steps. Then they withdrew the arrows, and held them up to view as 
before, with triumphant yelps, as if to say, “So far have I swallowed 
it.” Sympathizers in the audience yelped in response. The next thing 
to be done was to apply the arrows. Gne of the dancers advanced 
to the patient, and to the soles of the feet of the latter he pressed the 
magic weapon with its point to the right, and again with its point to the 
left. In a similar manner he treated the knees, hands, abdomen, back, 
shoulders, crown, and mouth in the order named, giving three coyote- 
like yelps after each application. When the first dancer had completed 
the work, the other took his place and went through exactly the same 
performance. This finished, the sick man and the buffalo robe were 
removed. The bearers of the arrows danced once more around the fire 
and departed. 

132. The plumed arrow is frequently referred to in the songs of this 
rite. It seems to be the most revered implement and the act in which 
it appears the most revered alili of the night. All the other shows may 
be omitted at will, but the dance of the katso-yisgan, it is said, must 
never be neglected. I have witnessed other performances where the 
arrow swallowers reappeared with their numbers increased to six or 
eight. The additional dancers all pretended to swallow arrows, but 
they did not apply them to the patient. The origin of this alili is well 
accounted for in the myth (paragraphs 47, 55, and 69), and the peculiar 
significance of the injunction not to break the arrow is easily under- 
stood when we know how the arrow is made. 

133. Third dance. At 10 0’clock the sound of the whistle again called 
the spectators to attention and a line of twenty-three dancers came in 
sight. The one wholed the procession bore iu his hand a whizzer (Fig. 
56) such as schoolboys use, a stick tied to the end of a string; this he 
constantly whirled, producing a sound like that of a rain storm. After 
him came one who represented a character, the Yébaka (anglicized, 
Yaybaka), from the great nine days’ ceremony of the klédji-qagal, or 
night chant, and he wore a blue buckskin mask that belongs to the 
character referred to. From time to time he gave the peculiar hoot or 
eall of the Yaybichy, ‘“hu‘hu‘hu‘hu” (paragraph 32). After him fol- 
lowed eight wand bearers. They were dressed like the bearers of the 
great plumed arrows; but instead of an arrow each bore a wand made 
of grass, cactus, and eagle plumes. The rest of the band were choris- 
ters in ordinary dress. As they were all proceeding round the fire for 
the fourth time they halted in the west, the choristers sat and the stand- 
ing wand bearers formed a double row of four. Then the Yaybaka 
began to hoot, the orchestra to play, the choristers to sing, the whizzer 
to make his mimic storm, and the wand bearers to dance. The latter, 
keeping perfect time with the orchestra, went through a series of fig- 
ures not unlike those of a modern quadrille. In our terpsichorean no- 
menclature the “calls” might have thus been given: “Forward and 
back. Chassez twice. Face partners. Forward and back. Forward 
and bow. Forward and embrace. Forward and wave wands at part- 


436 THE MOUNTAIN CHANT. 


ners,” &c. When several of these evolutions had been performed in 
a graceful and orderly manner, the choristers rose, and all went sing- 
ing out at the east. 

154. Three times more the same band returned. In the third and 
fourth acts the wands were exchanged for great pifion poles (eight to 
ten feet long), portions of which they pretended to swallow, as their 
predecessors had done with the arrows. (Paragraph 48.) That the 
simple and deyoted Pueblo Indian does actually, in dances of this 
character, thrust a stick far down his gullet, to the great danger of 
health and even of life, there is little reason to doubt; butthe wily Navajo 
attempts no such prodigies of deglutition. A careful observation of 
their movements on the first occasion convinced me that the stick never 
passed below the fauces, and subsequent experience in the medicine 
lodge only strengthened the conviction (paragraph 121). 

135. The instrument designated above as the whizzer is a thin, flat, 
pointed piece of wood, painted black and sparkling with the specular 
iron ore which is sprinkled on the surface; three small 
pieces of turquoise are inlaid in the wood to represent 
eyes and mouth. One whizzer which I examined was 
nine inches long, one and three-fourths inches broad, 
and about a quarter of an inch thick in the thickest 
part. (Fig. 56.) To it was attached a string about two 
feet long, by means of which the centrifugal motion was 
imparted to it. It is called by the Navajo tsin-¢e‘ni*, 
or groaning stick. It is used among many tribes of the 
southwest in their ceremonies. The Navajo chanters 
say that the sacred groaning stick may only be made of 
the wood of a pine tree which bas been struck by light- 
ning. 

136. In the Fourth dance there were about thirty chor- 
isters, in ordinary dress, bearing pinon wands; there 
was a man who shook a rattle, another who whirled the 
groaning stick, and there were three principal dancers, 
wearing fancy masks and representing characters from 
the rites of the klédji qagal or dance of the “ Yaybichy.” 
These three danced a lively and graceful jig, in per- 
fect time to the music, with many bows, waving of 
wands, simultaneous evolutions, and other pretty mo- 
tions which might have graced the spectacular drama 
of a metropolitan theater. Three times they left the 
corral for a moment, and returning varied the dance, 
and always varied to improve. The wands they bore 
were large light frames of reeds adorned with large 
Fic. 56. The whiz. eagle plumes. 

s 137. After this there was an interval of nearly an 
hour, which passed slowly with those in the corral. Some smoked and 
gossiped; some listened to the never ceasing din of the orchestra or 


Section, 





sa 


MATTHEWS.] CEREMONIES: STICK SWALLOWING; SUN SHOW. 437 


joined in the chant; some brought in wood and replenished the waning 
fires; some, wrapped in their serapes, stretched themselves on the 
ground to catch short naps. 

138. Fifth dance. It was after midnight when the blowing of a hoarse 
buffalo horn announced the approach of those who were to perform the 
fifth dance, the teohanoai alili or sun show. There were twenty-four 
choristers and a rattler. There were two character dancers, who were 
arrayed, like so many others, in little clothing and much paint. Their 
heads and arms were adorned with plumes of the war eagle, their necks 
with rich necklaces of genuine coral, their waists with valuable silver 
studded belts, and their loins with bright sashes of crimson silk. One 
bore on his back a round disk, nine inches in diameter, decorated with 
radiating eagle plumes to represent the sun. The other carried a disk, 
six and a half inches in diameter, similarly ornamented, to symbolize 
the moon. Each bore a skeleton wand of reeds that reminded one of 
the frame of a great kite; it was ornamented with pendant eagle plumes 
that swayed with every motion of the dancer. While the whole party 
was passing round the fire in the usual manner wands were waved and 
heads bowed towards the flames. When it stopped in the west the 
choristers sat and sang and the rattler stood and rattled, while the 
bearers of the sun and the moon danced at a lively rate for just three 
minutes. Then the choristers rose and all sang and danced themselves 
out of sight. A second performance of this dance came between the 
first and second repetitions of the next show. 

139. I have recorded one story (but have heard of another) accounting 
for the origin of this dance; it is as follows: When Dsilyi‘ Neydni vis- 
ited the mountain of Bistcagi, the home of Estsan @igini, these divine 
beings had for ornaments on their walls the sun and the moon. When 
the great mythic dance was given they were among the guests. They 
brought their wall decorations, and when the time for their alili came 
they wore the sun and the moon on their backs when they danced. 

140. The Sixth dance, that of the standing ares, was both picturesque 
andingenious. The principal performers were eight in number, as usual 
with scanty clothing. Their hair fell loose and long over back and 
shoulders and each bore in front of him, held by both hands, a wooden 
are, ornamented with eagle plumes. The ends of the are (which was a 
full semicircle) showed tufts of pinion twigs, and they were evidently 
joined togetber by a slender string, which was invisible to the audience. 
Besides the eight principal actors, there was a rattler, a bearer of the 
groaning stick,andachorus. While all were making the fourth cireuit of 
the fire, frequent shouts of “Gohe ! Cohe!” (Englished, Thohay—“ Stand! 
stand!” or ‘Stay! stay!”) were heard, the significance of which soon 
became apparent. When they stopped in the west, the eight character 
dancers first went through various quadrille-like figures, such as were 
witnessed in the third dance, and then knelt in two rows that faced one 
another. Ata word from the rattier the man who was nearest to him 


438 THE MOUNTAIN CHANT. 


(whom I will call No. 1) arose, advanced to the man who knelt opposite to 
him (No. 2) with rapid, shuffling steps, and amid a chorus of “Thohay ! 
Thohay !” placed his are with caution upon the head of the latter. Although 
it was held in position by the friction of the pinon tufts at each ear and 
by the pressure of the ends of the arc, now drawn closer by the sub- 
tending string, it had the appearance of standing on the head without 
material support, and it is probable that many of the uninitiated believed 
that only the magic influence of the oft-repeated word ‘“Thohay” kept it 
in position. When the are was secured in its piace, No. 1 retreated with 
shuffling steps to his former position and fell on his knees again. Im- 
mediately No. 2 advanced and placed the are which he held in his hand 
on the head of No.1. Thus each in turn placed his are on the head of 
the one who knelt opposite to him until all wore their beautiful halo-like 
headdresses. Then, holding their heads rigidly erect, lest their ares 
should fall, the eight kneeling figures began a splendid, well timed 
chant, whieh was accentuated by the clapping of hands and joined in by 
the chorus. When the chant was done the rattler addressed the are 
bearers, warning them to be careful; so they cautiously arose from their 
knees and shuffled with stiffened spines out of the corral, preceded by 
the choristers. This dance was repeated after the second performance 
of the fifth dance. 

141. Seventh dance. The are bearers had scarcely disappeared when 
another troupe entered the circle, the buffalo horn announcing their 
coming. A man with a whizzer led the procession. The choristers, in 
ordinary dress, were thirteen in number. The principal dancers were 
but two; they wore the usual sash and belt; the uncovered skin was 
painted white; they had on long blue woolen stockings of Navajo make 
and moccasins. Each bore a slender wand of two triangles of reeds, 
adorned at the corners with pendant plumes. They saluted the fire as 
they danced around it. They halted in the west, where the choristers 
sat down, and the two wand bearers danced for three minutes in a lively 
and graceful manner, to the music of the whizzer, the rattle, the chor- 
isters, and the drum of the orchestra. These returned twice more, mak- 
ing some variation in their performance each time. In the second act 
the rattler brought in under his arm a basket containing yucea leaves, 
and a prayer was said to the sun. It is possible that this dance was 
but a preliminary part of the eighth dance, but it must be described as 
a separate alili. 

142. Highth dance. In this there were sixteen performers, in ordinary 
Navajo dress. One of these bore the whizzer and led the procession; 
another, who came in the center of the line, carried a hewn plank, or 
puncheon, about 12 feet long and 4 inches broad, painted with spots and 
decorated with tufts of piton branchlets and with eagle plumes; imme- 
diately behind the bearer of the plank walked a man who had in a bas- 
ket an effigy of the sun, formed of a small round mirror and a number 
of radiating scarlet plumes. Having walked around the fire as usual, 





matrnews.| CEREMONIES: DANCE OF THE STANDING ARCS 439 


the whole party gathered in the west in a close circle, which completely 
excluded from the sight of the audience the operations of tke actors. 
Singing, rattling, and cries of ‘*Thohay!” were heard. Ina few minutes 
the circle opened and the hewn plank, standing upright on a small Nav- 
ajo blanket, without any apparent prop or support, was disclosed to view. 
At the base of the plank was the basket holding the figure of the sun. 
Singing was continued and so were the uproarious cries of  Thohay ”— 
cries anxious, cries appealing, cries commanding — while the bearer of 
the rattle stood facing the pole and rattling vigorously atit. At length, 
seemingly in obedience to all this clamor, the solar image left the 
basket and slowly, falteringly, totteringly, ascended the plank to 
within a few incles of the top. Here it stopped a moment and then 
descended in the same manner in which it rose. Once more was it 
made to rise and set, when the circle of dancers again closed, the plank, 
sun, and basket were taken in custody, and the dancers departed. Tak- 
ing into consideration the limited knowledge and rude implements of 
the originators (for this alili is not of modern origin), this was a well 
performed trick. The means used for supporting the pole and pulling 
up the sun could not be detected. The dancers formed a semicircle 
nearly ten feet distant from the pole and the light of the central fire shone 
brightly upon all. 

143. Ninth dance. It was after 1 o’clock in the morning when the dance 
of the hoshkawn ( Yecea baccata) began. (Fig. 57. See paragraph 3.) 
The ceremony was conducted in the first part by twenty-two persons in 
ordinary dress. One bore, exposed to view, a natural root of yucca, 
crowned with its cluster of root leaves, which remain green all winter, 
The rest bore in their hands wands of pinon. What other properties 
they may have had concealed under their blankets the reader will soon 
be able te conjecture. On their third journey around the fire they halted 
in the west and formed a close circle for the purpose of concealing their 
operations, such as was made in the eighth dance. After a minute spent 
in singing and many repetitions of “ Thohay,” the circle opened, disclosing 
to our view the yucea root planted in thesand. Again the circle closed; 
again the song, the rattle, and the chorus of “Thohay” were heard, 
and when the circle was opened the second time an excellent counter- 
feit of the small budding flower stalk was seen amid the fascicle of 
leaves. A third time the dancers formed their ring of occultation; 
after the song and din had continued for a few seconds the circle parted 
for the third time, when, all out of season, the great panicle of creamy 
yueca flowers gleamed in the firelight. The previous transformatious 
of the yucca had been greeted with approving shouts and laughter; 
the blossoms were hailed with storms of applause. For the fourth and 
last time the circle closed, and when again it opened the blossoms had 
disappeared and the great, dark green fruit hung in abundance from 
the pedicels. When the last transformation was completed the dancers 


440 THE MOUNTAIN CHANT. 


went ounce more around the fire and departed, leaving the fruitful yueea 
behind them. 

144. In a moment after they had disappeared the form of one per- 
sonating an aged, stupid, short sighted, decrepit man was seen to 
emerge slowly from among the crowd of spectators in the east. He 
was dressed in an eld aud woefully ragged suit and wore a high, pointed 





Fic. £7, Yueca baceata. 


hat. His face was whitened and he bore a short, crooked, wooden bow 
and a few crooked, ill made arrows. His mere appearance provoked the 
“stoic” audience to screams of laughter, and his subsequent ‘low com- 
edy business,” which excelled much that I have seen on the civilized 
stage, failed not to meet with uproarious demonstrations of approval. 
Slowly advancing as he enacted his part, he in time reached the place 





MATTHEWS. ] CEREMONIES: HOSHKAWN DANCE. 44] 


where the yucca stood, and, in his imbecile totterings, he at length stum- 
bled on the plant and pretended to have his flesh lacerated by the sharp 
leaves. He gave a tremulous ery of pain, rubbed saliva on the part 
supposed to be wounded, and muttered his complaints in a weak and 
shaking voice. He pretended then to seek for the plant, and was three 
times wounded in his efforts to find it. At length, kneeling on the 
ground, with his face buried in the leaves, he feigned to discover it, and 
rejoiced with querulous extravagance over his success. When he had 
marked the spot and the way back to it with am exaggerated burlesque 
of the Indian methods of doing these things, he went off to find his 
“old woman” and bring her to pick the fruit. Soon he returned with 
a tall, stalwart man, dressed to represent a hideous, absurd-looking old 
granny. The latter acted his part throughout the rest of the drama 
with a skill fully equal to that of his comrade. 

145, There were scenes in this drama which may not be told in this. 
connection. It will suffice to say here that when the yucca fruit was 
picked and put in the basket the old man helped the “woman” to 
shoulder her load and the pair left. the corral. The hackan-incd‘ does 
not invariably appear in the corral dance. I have attended one cere- 
mony where it was omitted. I have heard two descriptions of the dance 
which differed very much from the one given above. 

146. Many facts concerning not only the hackan ined‘, but other parts 
of the mountain chant, have not been allowed to appear in this essay, 
Recognized scientists may learn of them by addressing the author 
through the Director of the Bureau of Ethnology. 

147. Tenth dance. At twenty minutes past three an uninteresting per- 
formance called the “bear dance” began. A man entered on all fours; 
his face was painted white; he wore around his loins and over his 
shoulders pieces of some dark pelt which may have been bear skin, but 
looked more like the skin of a black sheep. The fire had now burned 
low and the light was dim. He was accompanied by two attendants, 
one of whom carried arattle. He went twice around the ring, imitating 
the lumbering gait of the bear. He occasionally made a clumsy lunge 
sidewise at some of the spectators, as though he would attack them; 
but on these occasions the man with the rattle headed him off and rat. 
tling in his face directed him back to the usual course around the fire. 
This show lasted five minutes. 

148. The Eleventh dance was the fire dance, or fire play, which was the 
most picturesque and startling of all. Some time before the actors 
entered, we heard, mingled with the blowing of the buffalo horn, strange 
sounds, much like the call of the sand-hill crane; they will, for con- 
venience, be called trumpeting. These sounds continued to grow louder 
and come nearer until they were heard at the opening in the east, and 
in a second after, ten men, having no more clothing on than the per- 
formers in the first dance, entered. Every man except the leader bore 
along thick bundle of shredded cedar bark in each hand and one had 


442 THE MOUNTAIN CHANT. 


two extra bundles on his shoulders for the later use of the leader. The 
latter carried four small fagots of the same material in his hands. Four 
times they all danced around the fire, waving their bundles of bark 
towards it.. They halted in the east; the leader advanced towards the 
central fire, lighted one of his fagots, and trumpeting loudly threw it to 
the east over the fence of the corral. He performed a similar act at the 
south, at the west, and at the north ; but before the northern brand was 
thrown he lighted with it the bark bundles of his comrades. As each 
brand disappeared over the fence some of the spectators blew into their 
hands and made a motion as if tossing some substance after the depart- 
ing flame. When the fascicles were all lighted the whole band began a 
wild race around the fire. At first they kept close together and spat 
upon one another some substance of supposed medicinal virtue. Soon 
they scattered and ran apparently without concert, the rapid racing 
causing the brands to throw out long brilliant streamers of flame over 
the hands and arms of the dancers. Then they proceeded to apply the 
brands to their own nude bodies and to the bodies of their comrades in 
front of them, no man ever once turning round; at times the dancer 
struck his victim vigorous blows with bis flaming wand; again he 
seized the flame as if if were a sponge and, keeping close to the one pur- 
sued, rubbed the back of the latter for several moments, as if he were 
bathing him. In the mean time the sufferer would perhaps catch up 
with some one in front of him andinturn bathe him in flame. At times 
when a dancer found no one in front of him he proceeded to sponge his 
own back, and might keep this up while making two or three circuits 
around the fire or until he caught up with some one else. At each ap- 
plication of the blaze the loud trumpeting was heard, and it often 
seemed as if a great flock of cranes was winging its way overbead south- 
ward through the darkness. If a brand became extinguished it was 
lighted again in the central fire; but when it was so far consumed as 
to be no longer held conveniently in the band, the dancer dropped it and 
rushed, trumpeting, out of the corral. Thus, one by one, they all de- 
parted. When they were gone many of the spectators came forward, 
picked up some of the fallen fragments of cedar bark, lighted them, 


and bathed their hands in the flames as a charm agaiust the evil effects 


of fire. 
149. Did these dancers, next day, hide sore and blistered backs under 


their serapes? I think not, for [have seen and conversed with some of 


the performers immediately after the fire show, and they seemed happy 
and had nothing to complain of. Did the medicine they spat on one 
another save them? Certainly not, although the Indians claim it is a 
true prophylactic against burns and eéall it azé-sakazi or cold medicine. 
But it is probable that the cedar bark ignites at a low temperature, 
and more than probable that the coating of white earth with which 
their bodies were covered is an excellent non-conductor. However, 
the thought that their bodies might have been thus ingeniously pro- 
tected lessened little, if any, the effect produced on the spectator. I 





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mMaTrHEWs.] CEREMONIES: FIRE DANCE AND OTHER DANCES. 443 


have seen many fire scenes on the stage, many acts of fire eating and 
fire handling by civilized jugglers, and many fire dances by other In- 
dian tribes, but nothing quite comparable to this in all its scenic 
effects. 

150. The closing ceremonies I did not witness on this occasion, but 
I saw them at subsequent dances. Shortly before sunrise an assistant 
passed around the fire four times and sprinkled a little water on the 
mass of smoldering embers, while the medicine man chanted the ap- 
propriate song. Later, three gaps were torn jn the circle of branches— 
one in the south, ove in the west, and one in the north—making, with 
the original gate in the east, four entrances to the corral. (See Plate 
XIV.) Just after sunrise the entire circle of branches was razed, but 
the branches were not carried away. The traveler through the Navajo 
country often encounters withered remains of these circles. In the 
ceremony of October, 1884, the chanter, having another engagement 
which was pressing, packed up his sacred utensils and left soon after 
sunrise. The patient, it was said, was not permitted to sleep until after 
sunset. 

151. Other dances. In subsequent dances I saw exhibitions which did 
not occur in the ceremony of November 5, 1882, just described, and I 
have learned of other shows produced on the last night, which I have 
never had an opportunity to witness. All the alilis may be modified. 
I have rarely seen two performances of the same dance which were just 
alike. 

152. On two occasions I have witnessed a very pretty dance, in which 
an eagle plume was stuck upright in a basket and by means of some 
well hidden mechanism caused to dance in good time to the song, the 
beat of the drum, and the motions of the single Indian who danced at 
the same time; not only this, but the feather followed the motions of 
the Indian: if he danced toward the north, the feather leaned to the 
north while making its rhythmical motions; if he moved to the south, it 
bent its white head in the same direction, and so on. On one occasion 
it was a little boy, five yearsold, son of the chief Manuelito, who 
danced with the eagle plume. He was dressed and painted much like 
the akdninili, or the arrow swallowers (Figs. 54, 55), on a diminutive 
scale, The sash of scarlet velvet around his hips was beautifully 
trimmed with feathers. They said he had been several weeks in train- 
ing for the dance, and he certainly went through his varied motions 
with great skill. I have rarely seen a terpsichorean spectacle that 
struck my faney more than that of the little Indian child and his 
partner, the eagle plume. 

153. It might be thought that the word “ thohay,” so often used to make 
inanimate objects pay attention, wasone of verysacred import. So it is, 
no doubt; yet I haveseen it broadly burlesqued. It was on the occasion 
of the last “ chant” which I attended. A number of boys, from twelve 
to fifteen years of age they seemed, led by a pleasant looking old man 


AAA THE MOUNTAIN CHANT. 


with a skeptical twinkle in his eye, came into the dark circle. One of 
the party carried a deep Indian basket, from the top of which a number 
of spruce twigs protruded. They formed what has been designated as 
the ring of occultation, and while doing so they shouted and screamed 
and puffed the talismanie “ thohay ” in a way that left no doubt of their 
intention to ridicule; Their extravagant motions added to the signifi- 
cance of their intonation. When the ring opened the boys sat on the 
ground and began to sing and beat a drum. The old man sat at a dis- 
tance of about three paces west of the basket. Presently the nose of a 
little weasel (the image being probably a stuffed skin) appeared among 
the spruce boughs. All the timid, inquiring motions of the little animal 
were well mimicked: the nose was thrust forward and pulled back, 
the whole head would emerge and retreat, and at rare times the shoul- 
ders would be seen for a moment, to be quickly drawn in among the 
screening spruce twigs. All these motions were made in perfect time 
to the singing and drumming. The old man who pulled the actuating 
strings made no secret of his manipulations. The play was intended 
for a farce, and as such the spectators enjoyed it. 


THE GREAT PICTURES OF DSILYIDJE QACAL. 


154. A description of the four great pictures drawn in these ceremo- 
nies has been deferred until all might be described together. Their 
relations to one another rendered this the most desirable course to pur- 
sue. The preparation of the ground and of the colors, the application 
of the sacred pollen, and some other matters have been already consid- 
ered. 

155. The men who do the greater part of the actual work of painting, 
under the guidance of the chanter, have been initiated, but need not be 
skilled medicine men or even aspirants to the craft of the shaman. A 
certain ceremony of initiation has been performed on them four times, 
each time during the course of a different dance, before they are ad- 
mitted into the lodge during the progress of the work or allowed to 
assist in it. The medicine man receives a good present in horses for his 
work; the assistants get nothing but their food. This, however, is 
abundant. Three times a day the person for whose benefit the dance 
is performed sends in enough mush, corn cake, soup, and roasted mut- 
ton to satisfy to the utmost the appetites of all in the lodge. There are 
some young men who live well all winter by going around the country 
from dance to dance and assisting in the work of the lodge. 

156. The pictures are drawn according to an exact system. The 
shaman is frequently seen correcting the workmen and making them 
erase and reyise their work. In certain well detined instances the artist 
is allowed to indulge his individual faney. This is the case with the 
gaudy embroidered pouches which the gods carry at the waist. Within 
reasonable bounds the artist may give his god just as handsome a pouch 


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MATTHEWS. ] GREAT PICTURES OF DSILYIDJE QACAL. 445 


as he wishes. Some parts of the figures, on the other hand, are meas- 
ured by palms and spans, and not a line of the sacred design can be 
varied. Straight and parallel lines are drawn by aid of a tightened cord. 
The mode of applying the colored powder is peculiar. The artist has 
his bark trays laid on the sand where they are convenient of access. He 
takes a small quantity of the powder in his closed palm and allows it to 
pass out between his thumb and forefinger, while the former is moved 
across the latter. When he makes a mistake he dves not brush away 
the pigment. He obliterates it by pouring sand on it, and then draws 
the corrected design on the new surface. The forms of the gods do not 
appear as I have represented them in the first coat of color. Thenaked 
figures of these mythical beings are first completely and accurately 
drawn and then the clothing is put on. Even in the pictures of the 
“Long-bodies” (Plate XVII), which are drawn 9 feet in length, the 
naked body is first made in its appropriate color—white for the east, 
blue for the south, vellow for the west, and black for the north—-and 
then the four red shirts are painted on from thigh to axilla, as shown in 
the picture. : 

157. The drawings are, as a rule, begun as much towards the center 
as the nature of the figure will permit, due regard being paid to the 
order of precedence of the points of the compass, the figure in the 
east being begun first, that in the south next, that in the west third in 
order, and that in the north fourth. The periphery is finished last of 
all. The reason for thus working from within outwards is that the men 
employed on the picture disturb the smooth surface of the sand with 
their feet. If they proceed in the order described they can smooth the 
sand as they advance and need not cross the finished portions of the 
picture. 

158. I have learned of seventeen great healing dances of the Navajo 
in which pictures of this character are drawn. There are said to be, 
with few exceptions — only one exception that lam positively aware of— 
four pictures appropriate to each dance. Some of the dances are prac- 
ticed somewhat differently by different schools or orders among the 
medicine men, and in these divers torms the pictures, although agreeing 
in general design, vary somewhatin detail. Thus there are, on an aver- 
age, probably more than four designs, belonging to each of the seventeen 
ceremonies, whose names I have obtained. If there were but four to 
each, this would give us sixty-eight such paintings known to the medi- 
cine men of the tribe, and thus we may form some conception of the 
great number of these sacred pictures which they possess. But I have 
reason to believe, from many things I have heard, that besides these 
seventeen great nine days’ ceremonies to which I refer, there are many 
minor ceremonies, with their appropriate pictures; so that the number 
is probably greater than that which I give. 

159. These pictures, the medicine men aver, are transmitted from 
teacher to pupil in each order and for each ceremony unaltered from 


446 THE MOUNTAIN CHANT. 


year to year and from generation to generation. That such is strictly 
the case I cannot believe. There are no standard pictures on hand 
anywhere. No permanent design for reference is ever in existence, 
and there is, so far as I can learn, no final authority in the tribe to settle 
any disputes that may arise. Few of these great ceremonies can be 
performed in the summer months. Most ef the’ figures are therefore 
carried over from winter to winter in the memories of falliblemen. But 
this much I do credit, that any innovations which may creep into their 
work are unintentional and that if changes occur they are wrought 
very slowly. The shamans and their faithfal followers believe, or pro- 
fess to believe, that the direst vengeance of the gods would visit them 
if these rites were varied in the least in picture, prayer, song, or cere- 
monial. The mere fact that there are different schools among the 
medicine men may be regarded as an evidence that changes have oc- 
curred, ; 

160. First Picture. The picture of the first day (Plate XV) is 
said to represent the visit of Dsilyi‘ Neyani to the home of the snakes 
at Qo¢estso. (Paragraph 53.) 

161. In the center of the picture was a circular concavity, about six 
inches in diameter, intended to represent water, presumably the house 
of water mentioned in the myth. In all the other pictures where water 
was represented a sinall bow] was ictually sunk in the ground and 
filled with water, which water was afterwards sprinkled with powdered 
charcoal to give the impression of a flat, dry surface. Why the bowl 
of water was omitted in this picture Ido not know, but a medicine 
man of a different fraternity from that of the one who drew the pict- 
ure informed me that with men of his school the bow] filled with water 
was used in the snake picture as weil asin the others. Closely sur- 
rounding this central depression are four parallelograms about four 
inches by ten inches in the original pictures. The half nearer the center 
is red; the outer half is blue; they are bordered with narrow lines of 
white. The same figures are repeated in other paintings. They appear 
in this drawing, and frequently in others, as something on which the 
gods seem to stand. They are the ca‘bitlol, or rafts of sunbeam, the 
favorite vessels on which the divine ones navigate the upper deep. In 
the Navajo nyths, when a god has a particularly long and speedy 
journey to make, he takes two sunbeams and, placing them side by side, 
is borne off in a twinkling whither he wills. Red is the color proper 
to sunlight in their symbolism, but the red and blué together represent 
sunbeams in the morning and evening skies when they show an alter- 
nation of blue and red. It will be seen later that the sunbeam shafts, 
the halo, and the rainbow are represented by the same colors. In form, 
however, the halo is cireular, and the rainbow is distinguished by its 
curvature, and it is usually anthropomorphic, while the sunbeam and 
the halo are not. External to these sunbeam rafts, and represented as 
standing on them, are the figures of eight serpents, two white ones in 





MATTHEWS. ] FIRST GREAT PICTURE OR DRY PAINTING. 447 


the east, two blue ones in the south, two yellow ones in the west, and 
two black ones in the north. These snakes cross one another (in pairs) 
so as to form four figures like the letter X. In drawing these X’s the 
snake which appears to be beneath is made first complete in every re- 
spect, and then the other snake is drawn over it in conformity with 
their realistic laws of art before referred to. The neck, in all cases, is 
blue, crossed with four bands of red. The necks of the gods in all the 
pictures, it will be observed, are made thus, but the bars in the man- 
like figures run transversely, while those in the snake-like run diago- 
nally. Three rows of y-shaped figures, four in each row, are seen on 
the backs of the snakes; these are simply to represent mottlings. Out- 
side of these eight suakes are four more of much greater length; they 
form a frame or boundary to the picture, except in the west, where 
the mountain of Dsilya-i¢gin lies beyond them. ‘There is a white suake in 
the east, lying from north to south and bounding the picture in the east; 
a blue snake, of similar size and shape, in the south; a yellow oue in the 
west, and a black one in the north. They seem as if following one 
another around the picture in the direction of the sun’s apparent course, 
the head of the east snake approximating the tail of the south snake, 
and so on. 

162. In the northeast is seen the yay, Niltci, who accompanied the Nay- 
ajo prophet to the home of the snakes. In the extreme west is a black 
circular figure representing the mountain of Dsilya-igin. In the origi- 
nal picture the mountain was in relief— which I have not attempted to 
represent—a little mound of about ten or twelve inches high. The de- 
scription of the mountain given in the myth is duly symbolized in the 
picture, the halo added. The green spot in the center is designed to 
represent a twig of spruce which was stuck in the mound of sand to 
indicate the spruce tree door. From the summit of the mountain to the 
middle of the central waters is drawn a wide line in corn meal, with 
four footprints, depicted at intervals, in the same material. This rep- 
resents the track of a bear. Immediately south of this track is the 
figure of an animal drawn in gray pigment. This is the grizzly him- 
self, which here, I have reason to believe, is used as a symbol of the 
Navajo prophet. The bear, in the sacred language of the shamans, is 
appropriately called Dsilyi‘ Neyaui, since he is truly reared within the 
mountains. His track, being represented by a streak of meal, has refer- 
ence to the same thing as the name akaninili and the practice of the 
couriers (paragraph 102), who are dressed to represent the prophet, 
throwing corn meal in front of them when they travel. 

163. The SECOND PIcTURE is said to be a representation of the paint- 
ing which the prophet saw in the home of the bears in the Carrizo Mount- 
ains (paragraph 40). In the center of this figure is the bowl of water 
covered with black powder, to which I referred before. The edge of 
the bowl is adorned with sunbeams, and external to it are the four 
ea‘bitlol, or sunbeam rafts, on which seem to stand four gods, or yays. 


448 THE MOUNTAIN CHANT. 


164. The divine forms are shaped alike but colored differently. They 
lie with heads extended outward, one to each of the four cardinal points 
of the compass, the faces looking forward, the arms half extended on 
either side, with the hands raised to a level with the shouiders. They 
wear around their loius skirts of red sunlight, adorned with sunbeams. 
They have ear pendants, bracelets, and arimnlets, blue and red (of tur- 
quoise and coral), the prehistoric and emblematic jewels of the Navajo. 
Their forearms and legs are black, showing in each a zigzag mark to 
represent lightning on the surface of the black rain clouds. In the 
north god these colors are, for artistic reasons, reversed. Each bears, 
attached to his right hand with a string, a rattle, a charm, and a basket. 
The rattle is of the shape of those used by the medicine men in this par- 
ticular dance, made of raw hide and painted to symbolize the rain cloud 
and lightning. The left hand is empty; but beside each one is a highly 
conventionalized picture of a plant. Theleft hand remains empty, as it 
were, to grasp this plant, to indicate that the plant at the left hand be- 
longs to the god whose corresponding hand is unoccupied and extended 
towards it. The proprietorship of each god in his own particular plant 
is further indicated by making the plant the same color as the god. The 
body of the eastern god is white; so is the stalk of corn at his left, in 
the southeast. The body of the southern god is blue; so is the bean- 
stalk beside him, in the southwest. The body of the western god is 
yellow; so is his pumpkin vine, in the northwest. The body of the 
north god is black; so is the tobacco plant, which is under his special 
protection, in the northeast. 

165. Each of the four sacred plants is represented as growing from 
tive white roots in the central waters and spreading outwards to the 
periphery of the picture. The gods form one cross whose limbs are di- 
rected to the four cardinal points; the plants form another cross having 
a common center wilh the first named cross, but whose limbs extend to 
the intermediate points of the compass. 

166. On the head of each yay is an eagle plume lying horizontally and 
pointing to the right. A similar arrangement of four plumes, all point- 
ing in one direction (contrary to the sun’s apparent course), may be ob- 
served on the baskets carried by the gods. : 

167. The gods are represented with beautiful embroidered pouches, 
each of a different pattern. In old days the most beautiful things in 
art the Navajo knew of were the porcupine quill embroideries of the 
northern races. The art of garnishing with quills, and later with beads, 
seems never to have been practiced to any extent by the Navajo women. 
They obtained embroideries of the Ute and other northern tribes, and 
their ancient legends abound in allusions to the great esteem in which 
they held them. (See, for instance, paragraphs 32, 34.) Hence, to rep- 
resent the grandeur and potency of their gods, they adorn them with 
these beautiful and much coveted articles. 


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FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XVI. 





n 





MATTHEWS. ] SECOND GREAT PICTURE. 449 


168. Surrounding the picture on about three-fourths of its cireum- 
ference is the anthropomorphic rainbow or rainbow deity. It consists 
of two long stripes, each about two inches wide in the original picture, 
one of blue, one of red, bordered and separated by narrow lines of 
white. At the southeastern end of the bow is a representation of the 
body below the waist, such as the other gods have, consisting of pouch, 
skirt, legs, and feet. At the northeastern end we have head, neck, and 
arms. The head of the rainbow is rectangular, while the heads of the 
other forms in this picture are round. In the pictures of the Yaybichy 
dance we frequently observe the same difference in the heads. Some 
are rectangular, some are round; the former are females, the latter 
males; and whenever any of these gods are represented, by characters, 
in a dance, those who enact the females wear square stiff masks, like 
our dominoes, while those who enact the males wear roundish, baglike 
masks, of soft skin, that completely envelop the head. The rainbow 
god in all these pictures wears the rectangular mask. Iris, therefore, is 
with the Navajo as well as with the Greeks a goddess. 

169, All the other gods bear something in their hands, while the 
hands of the rainbow areempty. This is not withoutintention. When 
the person for whose benefit the rites are performed is brought in to 
be prayed and sung over, the sacred potion is brewed in a bowl, which 
is placed on the outstretched hands of the rainbow while the ceremony 
is in progress and only taken from these hands when the draught is to 
be administered. Therefore the hands are disengaged, that they may 
hold the gourd and its contents when the time comes (paragraph 106). 

170. In the east, where the picture is not inclosed by the rainbow, 
we see the forms of two birds standing with wings outstretched, facing 
one another, their beaks close together. These represent certain birds 
of blue plumage called by the Navajo coli (Sialia arctica). This blue- 
bird is of the color of the south and of the upper regions. He is the 
herald of the morning. His call of ‘coli, oli” is the first that is heard 
when the gray dawn approaches. Therefore is he sacred, and his 
feathers form a component part of nearly all the plume sticks used in 
the worship of this people. Two bluebirds, it is said, stand guard at 
the door of the house wherein these gods dwell; hence they are repre- 
sented in the east of the picture. 

171. Here is an appropriate occasion to speak of a part of Navajo 
symbolism in color to which reference has already several times been 
made. In the majority of cases the east is represented by white, the 
south by blue, the west by yellow, the north by black; the upper world 
by blue and the lower by a mixture of white and black in spots. The 
colors of the south and west seem to be permanent: the south is always 
blue and the west is always yellow, as far as I can learn; but the colors 
of the east and north are interchangeable. The cases are rare where 
white is assigned to the north and black to the east; but such cases 

5 ETH——29 


450 THE MOUNTAIN CHANT. 


occur, and perhaps in each instance merit special study. Again, black 
represents the male and blue the female. 

172. The THIRD PICTURE commemorates the visit of Dsilyit Neyani 
to (hagd*-behogan, or “Lodge of Dew” (paragraph 56). To indicate 
the great height of the Bitsés-ninéz the figures are twice the length of 
any in the other pictures, except the rainbows, and each is clothed in 
four garments, one above the other, for no one garment, they say, can 
be made long enough to cover such giant forms. Their heads all point 
to the east, instead of pointing in different directions, as in the other 
pictures. The Navajo relate, as already told (paragraph 56), that this 
is in obedience to a divine mandate; but probably there is a more 
practical reason, which is this: if they had the cruciform arrangement 
there would not be room on the floor of the lodge for the figures and 
at the same time for the shaman, assistants, and spectators. Economy 
of space is essential; but, although drawn nearly parallel to one 
another, the proper order of the cardinal points is not lost sight of. The 
form immediately north of the center of the picture is done first, in 
white, and represents the east. That immediately next to it on the 
south comes second in order, is painted in blue, and represents the 
south. The one next below that is in yellow, and depicts the goddess 
who stood in the west of the House of Dew-Drops. The figure in the 
extreme north is drawn last of all, in black, and belongs to the north. 
As I have stated before, these bodies are first made naked and after- 
wards clothed. The exposed chests, arms, and thighs display the colors 
of which the entire bodies were originally composed. The gldi (weasel, 
Putorius) is sacred to these goddesses. Two of these creatures are 
shown in the east, guarding the entrance to the lodge. The append- 
ages at the sides of the heads of the goddesses represent the gloi-bitea, 
or headdresses of gloi skins of different colors which these mythic per- 
sonages are said to wear. Each one bears attached to her right hand 
a rattle and a charm, or plume stick, such as the gods in the second 
picture carry ; but, instead of the basket shown before, we see a con- 
ventionalized representation of a branch of choke cherry in blossom ; 
this consists of five diverging stems in blue, five roots, and five eruci- 
form blossoms in white. The choke cherry is a sacred tree, a mountain 
plant; its wood is used in making certain sacrificial plume sticks and 
certain implements of the dance; it is often mentioned in the songs of 
this particular rite. Some other adjuncts of this picture—the red robes 
embroidered with sunbeams, the arms and legs clothed with clouds and 
lightning, the pendants from the arms, the blue and red armlets, 
bracelets, and garters—have already been described when speaking of 
the second picture. The object in the left hand is a wand of spruce. 

173. The rainbow which incloses the picture on three sides is not the 
anthropomorphic rainbow. It has no head, neck, arms, or lower ex- 
tremities. Five white eagle plumes adorn its southeastern extremity. 
Five tail plumes of some blue bid decorate the beud in the southwest. 








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BUREAU OF ETHNOLO 





MATTHEWS. ] THIRD AND FOURTH GREAT PICTURES. 451 


The plumes of the red shafted flicker (Colaptes auratus var. mexicans) 
are near the bend in the northwest and the tail of the magpie termi- 
nates the northeastern extremity. Throughout the myth, it will be 
remembered, not only is the House of Dew-Drops spoken of as adorned 
with hangings and festoons of rainbows, but many of the holy dwell- 
ings are thus embellished. 

174. The FourtH PIcTURE represents the kaAtso-yiscan, or great 
plumed arrows. ‘These arrows are the especial great mystery, the 
potent healing charm of this dance. The picture is supposed to be a 
fac simile of a representation of these weapons, shown to the prophet 
when he visited the abode of the Tsilké-¢igini, or young men gods, where 
he first saw the arrows (paragraph 47). There are eight arrows. Four 
are in the center, lying parallel to one another —two pointing east and 
two others, alternate, pointing west. The picture is bordered by the 
other four, which have the same relative positions and directions as the 
bounding serpents in the first picture. The shafts are all of the same 
white tint, no attention being paid to the colors of the cardinal points; 
yet in drawing and erasing the picture the cardinal points are duly hon- 
ored. Among the central arrows, the second from the top, or north 
margin of the design, is that of the east; it is drawn and erased first. 
The next below it is the arrow of the south; the third is that of the 
west. The one on top belongs to the north; itis drawn and erased last. 
The heads are painted red to represent the red stone points used; the 
fringed margins show the irregularities of their edges. The plumes at 
the butt are indicated, as are also the strings by which the plumes are 
tied on and the notches to receive the bowstring. 

175. The ground of this picture is crossed with nebulous black streaks. 
These were originally present in all the pictures. I have omitted them 
in all but this, lest they might obscure the details of the reduced copies- 
Tt has been explained to me (although in the myth it is expressly stated 
only in one case, paragraph 40) that all these pictures were drawn by 
the gods upon the clouds and thus were shown to the Navajo prophet. 
Men cannot paint on the clouds, but according to the divine mandate 
they do the best they can on sand, and then sprinkle the sand with 
charcoal,in the manner indicated, to represent the cloudy scrolls where- 
on the primal designs of the celestial artists were painted. 


SACRIFICES OF DSILYIDJE QACAL. 


176. The sacrifices made to the gods during these ceremonies consist 
of nothing more than a few sticks and feathers, with the occasional 
addition of strings and beads—a form of sacrificial offering common 
among various tribes of the Southwest, including the sedentary Indians 
of the pueblos. During the six days’ work in the medicine lodge and 
the corral, I saw but one lot of these sticks prepared (paragraphs 86,87); 
but I think this lot represented two sets, i. e., sacrifices to two different 


452 THE MOUNTAIN CHANT. 


mythical beings. It is, however, indicated in the myth that a consider- 
able number of these sacrifices, called by the Navajo kecan (Englished, 
kethawn), belong to the mountain chant and may properly be offered 
during its celebration. I have seen among the Navajo a few varieties 
of these devotional offerings and I have obtained descriptions of many. 
Although I cannot rely on the minute accuracy of these descriptions, I 
will present them for such value as they may possess in illustrating 
the general character of this system of worship, a system which might 
profitably occupy for years the best labors of an earnest student to 
elucidate. 

177. Fig. 58 represents a kethawn belonging, not to the mountain 
chant, but to the klédji-qacal, or chant of the night. It is sacred to the 
Youth and the Maiden of the Rock Crystal, 
divine beings who dwell in Tsisnatecini, a 
great mountain north of the Pueblo of Jemez. 
The original is in the National Museum at 
Washington. It consists of two sticks coated 
with white earth and joined by a cotton ~ 
string a yard long, which is tied to each stick 
by a clove hitch A 
black bead is on the cen- 
ter of the string; a tur- 
key feather and an eagle 
feather are secured with 
the clove hitch to one of 
the sticks. 

178. Fig. 59 depicts a 
kethawn pertaining also 
to the kledji-qagal. It 
is called kegan-yalei‘, or 
talking kethawn. The 
sticks are willow. The 
one to the left is painted 
black, to representa male 
character (Qasteé baka) 
in the myth and ceremo- 
ny of klédji-qagal. The 
other stick is painted 
blue, to denote a female 
character (Qastcébaaid) 
3.4 in the same rites. The 
Fic. 58. Sacrificial sticks blue stick hasadiagonal fic. 59. The talking kethiwn 

(kecan). £ - (kegan-yalci’). 
? facetatthe top toindicate 
the square topped female mask (paragraph 168). The naturally round 
end of the black stick sufficiently indicates the round male mask. The 
cord wrapped around the two sticks is similar to that deseribed in the 








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BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY 
SiSS55 , FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XVII. 





MATTHEWS. } SACRIFICES OF DSILYIDJE QAGAL. 453 


paragraph immediately preceding. About the middle of the cord is a 
long white shell bead, shown in the cut. The breast feathers of the 
turkey and the downy feathers of the eagle are attached to the sticks. 
This kethawn I saw once in the possession of a Navajo qacali. I was 
permitted to sketch it, but could not purchase it. The interpretation 
given of its symbolism is that of the qacali who owned it. In the myth 
of klédji-qagal it is said that the beneficent god Qastcéélci used this 
kethawn when he removed from the prophet Co the evil spell which 
had been cast on the latter by the wind god. 

179. In Schooleraft’s Archives of Aboriginal Knowledge, Philadel- 
phia, 1860, Vol. III, page 306, is a cut illustrating an article undoubt- 
edly of a similar nature to that shown in Fig. 59. It is a sacrificial 
plume stick of the Moki. The Moki interpreter explained to Mr. School- 
craft that it contained a message from the Indians to the President 
and the. particulars of this message are fully set forth in his text. At 
first I doubted if the object could have any other purpose than a sac- 
rificial one and was inclined to discredit the statement of the Moki inter- 
preter. But on learning that the Navajo had a similar arrangement of 
sticks and feathers, which was called by the significant name of kecan- 
yalgi‘, or talking kethawn, I was more inclined to believe that some of 
these kethawns may answer a double purpose and be used to convey 
messages, or at least serve as mnemonic aids to envoys. 

180. The cae-bikecan (bear kethawn) spoken of in the myth consisted 
of two sticks, each a span long, one painted black (male), the other 
painted blue (female). Each had red and blue bands at the ends and 
in the middle. There were no feathers or beads. (Paragraph 40.) 

181. The gloi-bikeg¢an, or sacrifices to the weasels, were four in number, 
two yellow and two white. In preparing the sticks one end was always 
to be held to the north, the other towards the south. At each end a, 
narrow circle of red and a narrow circle of blue were painted; the red. 
being to the north, i. e., outside of the blue at one end and inside of it: 
at the other. The weasel men directed that the sticks should be buried 
jn the ground in the same direction in which they were held when being 
made, lying from north to south with the outer red ring at the north. 
(Paragraph 41.) 

182. Four sticks pertained to the klictsd-bikegan: one was black, with 
four white deer tracks painted on it; another was blue, with four yellow 
deer tracks; a third was white, with four black deer tracks; the fourth 
was yellow, with four blue deer tracks. The Great Serpent said to the 
Navajo prophet: ‘There are certain moles who, when they dig in the 
ground, scatter the earth in a long winding heap like the form of a crawl- 
jng snake. In such a heap of earth will you bury these kethawns.” 
(Paragraph 42.) 

183. There are two sticks belonging to the kethawn of the lightning 
god (i¢ni‘-bikegan}. One is black, with a white zigzag stripe from end 


454 THE MOUNTAIN CHANT. 


to end; the other blue, with a yellow zigzag stripe from end to end. 
(Paragraph 43.) 

184. ‘The Estsan-¢igimi, or Holy Women, showed the prophet but‘one 
kethawn stick. It was painted white and decorated with three pairs 
of cireular bands, red and blue, the blue in each case being next to the 
body of the painter while he holds the stick in decorating it. This 
kethawn must be buried at the base of a young spruce tree, with the 
first blue circle next to the tree. (Paragraph 45.) 

185. Four sticks were sbown by the Tciké-cac-natlehi. They were 
black, sprinkled with specular iron ore to make them shine; decorated 
with three pairs of bands, red and blue, applied as in the kethawns 
of the Estsan-¢igini; and buried under a young pifon, with the first 
blue band or circle next to the tree. (Paragraph 46.) 

186. The two kethawns seen by Dsilyi‘ Neyani at Big Oaks, the 
home of the (igin-yosini, were both banded at the ends with blue and 
red and had marks to symbolize the givers. One was white, with two 
pairs of stripes, red and blue, running lengthwise. The other was yel- 
low, with many stripes of black and yellow running lengthwise. (Para- 
graph 49.) 

187. At Last Mountain, the home of the skunks, two kethawuns, evi- 
dently intended to symbolize these animals, were shown to the prophet 
and his divine companions. Both the sticks were black: one had three 
white longitudinal stripes on one side; the other had three longitud- 
inal rows of white spots, three spots in each row, on one side. (Para- 
graph £0.) 

188. The two sticks shown by the squirrels, Glo‘dsilkai and Glo‘dsil- 
jini, were painted blue, sprinkled with specular iron ore, and surrounded 
at the ends with red and blue bands. One was to be planted at the base 
of a pine tree and one at the base of a spruce tree. 

189. At Dsilya-igin the porcupines exhibited two kethawns. They 
were very short, being equal in length to the middle joint of the little 
finger. One was black and one was blue. Each had red and blue ter- 
minal bands and each had a number of white dots on one side to rep- 
resent porcupine quills. ‘‘Bury them,” said @asani, “under a pinion 
tree.” (Paragraph 52.): , 

190. At Qo¢estso four kethawns, rather elaborately decorated, were 
shown. Two were half white and half black, the black part having 
white spots and the white part having black spots on it. The other 
two were half blue and half yellow, the yellow being spotted with 
blue and the blue with yellow. There were red and blue rings at the 
ends. (Paragraph 53.) 

191. The Teiké-¢igini showed their visitors two kethawns, one black 
and one blue. Each was a span long and was surrounded with three 
pairs of bands, blue and red, put on in the manner observed in making 
the kethawns of the Estsan-¢igini. (Paragraph 184.) To the center of 
the black kethawn five blue feathers were tied. To the center of the 


ae 


MATTHEWS. ] SONGS OF DSILYIDJE QAGAL. 455 


blue kethawn five yellow feathers were fastened. Five black beads were 
interred with the black stick—one tied to the center, one stuck in the 
eud, and three laid loose in the ground. Five blue turquoise beads 
were similarly buried with the blue stick. Such kethawns must be 
buried at the foot of a spruce tree, with the heads towards the mount- 
ains of @epéntsa. By “head” is meant the end held the farther from 
the body of the painter when the paint is applied, the end having the 
red band atitsextremity. (Paragraph 54.) 


ORIGINAL TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS OF SONGS, &C. 


192. The songs of the dsilyidje qagal are very numerous and their 
recitation is governed by many rules, a few of which only have been 
discovered by the writer. 

193. A list has been recorded of thirteen sets of songs which may 
properly be sung at night in the medicine lodge, when the ceremonies 
of the day are done, and in the corral on the last night, when there is 
no special song in progress pertaining to a particular alili or dance. 
The list which follows exhibits the order in which these songs may be 
sung on any particular night. For example, if the singers begin with 
a song from set III, they cannot follow immediately with a song from 
sets I or II, but must select from some of the following sets, as set 1V 
or V. Again, in each set the songs have a certain order of sequence 
which must not be reversed. For convenience these will be called 


SONGS OF SEQUENCE. 





Nuwiber in 
each set 











5 Indian name of set. English name of set. 
= 
lo) 
Rade Mesaler Bigin’ 22-0602: Songs of the First Dancers .....-...-.-. ---- Wnt 
II. | Tsintsd LST co seep spcest Songs of the Great Stick,'or Plumed Wand :. 
Ill. | GepeBigin,. css. eos 222 Songs of the Mountain Sheep. ..-.-..-...--.. 12 
Iv. | Ini‘ BIG ae oie sence Songs of the Lightning --.....--.-..--.-=-. 12 
Vis Tsilke-¢igini Bigin ..---. Songs of the Holy Young Men ..-....---. .... 12 
VI. | Teiké-cac-naétlehi Bigin -.| Songs of Young Women Who Become Bears 16 
VII. | Dsilyit Neydani Bigin- ---- | Songs of Reared Within the Mountains -... - 8 
WILT. |\VEsthaeini= so. o~ceose'e ne AW LIRON OS ers a eee react owen ee | 8 
IX: | Nahikai-gin ............- WIR enin go SOND Sameer nae ace me cea eee eee e 
X. | Gasani Bigin .........--. Songs of the Porcupines........../---....-- 7 
XI. | Nanisé Bigin ....-.-..-.. Sonss/of the Plants): 2-225. ele 2 ssn caeeeen- 8 
XII. | Tsin¢ilgoi Bigin -........| Songs of the Exploding Stick. --......------ 26 
RNa VGA OU ee ese c ce Dayliohtisones s22sc..-- sees eae eee ne ee | 16 
TEN oe soso SSccc5deco| sas nlsossbs gS Son ED ot Eten eens Beane aeesa sat 161 











456 THE MOUNTAIN CHANT. 


194, Besides those referred to in the above list, there are more which 
are appropriate to different acts in the ceremony, such as the songs sung 
at the obliteration of the pictures, at the building of the corral, at the 
departure of the akaninili, We. 

195. In some cases a number of songs in the same set are nearly alike ; 
the addition or substitution of one verse, or even of one word, may be 
the only difference. Such songs usually follow one another in imme- 
diate succession; often, on the other hand, we find a great variety in 
subject and in style. 

196. Some songs are self-explanatory or readily understood, but the 
greater number cannot be comprehended without a full knowledge of the 
mythology and of the symbolism to which they refer; they merely hint 
at mythie conceptions. Many contain archaic expressions, for which the 
shaman can assign a meaning, but whose etymology cannot now be 
learned; and some embody obsolete words whose meaning is lost even 
to the priesthood. There are many vocables known to be meaningless 
and recited merely to fill out the rhythm or to give a dignified length to 
the song. For the same reasons a meaningless syllable is often added 
or a significant syllable duplicated. 

197. Other poetical licenses are taken, such as the omission of a syl- 
lable, the change of accent, the substitution of one vowel for another. 
The most familiar words are often distorted beyond recognition. For 
these various reasons the task of noting and translating these songs is. 
one of considerable difficulty. 


192. FIRST SONG OF THE FIRST DANCERS. 


Qanié qad yae, qanie qad yae 
Qanié ié oaye oaye. 


1. Qadjiniiia qad yae, | 9. Qadjiniiia qao yae, 

2. Kae dsil ¢ilhyili qad yae, | 10. Kag dsil litsdi qad yaa, 

3. ‘Caltsoi tseé qao yae, 11. Bitselitsoi qao yae, 

4. Cija cigélgo qad yae. 12. Cija cigeélgo qao yae. 
Nahi ini éhi oayé, nahi ini éhi obhe. Nahi ini, ete. 

5. Niqoyasteadje qaod yae, 13. Niqoyastcadje qad yae, 

6. Kae dsil goliji qad yae, 14. Kag dsil lakaie qaod yae, 

7. Kini bitseé qao yae, 15, A‘a‘i tsee qao yae, 

8. Cija cigélgo qao yae. 16. Cija cigélgo qao yae. 
Nahi ini, ete. Nahi ini, ete. 


199. Translation.—1, 9. Qadjinai, ‘‘ Place-where-they-came-up,” a locality in the 
San Juan Mountains where, according to their mythology, the Navajo emerged 
from the lower world to this. 5, 13. Niqoyastcadje, another name for Qadjinai. 2, 6, 
10, 14. Kae, now; dsil, mountain; ¢ilhyili, black; goliji, blue; litsoi, yellow ; lakaie, 
white. These verses refer to four mountains surrounding Qadjinai, which are desig- 
pated by colors only to indicate their topographical positions. 3, 7, 11, 15. ‘Caltsoi= 
aca litsoi, ‘yellow wing,” a large bird of prey; kini, hen hawk; bitselitsoi, ‘‘ yellow 
tail,” a bird of undetermined species; a‘a‘i, magpie; tse, a tail; bitse, its tail. 4, 8, 
12, 16. Cija, my treasure; cigél, my desideratum, my ultimatum, the only thing I 





MATTHEWS.] SONGS OF SEQUENCE. 457 


will accept. When supposed to be said by a god, as in this song, it means the par- 
ticular sacrifice which is appropriate to him. In this case probably the feathers 
spoken of are ‘‘cigel” and the mountains ‘‘cija.” The refrain ‘‘qad yae” is a poetic 
modification of qaa‘, it looms up, or sticks up, said of some lofty object visible in 
the distance, whose base cannot be seen. 


200. Free translation. 


Place-whence-they-came-up looms up, | Place-whence-they-came-up looms up, 
Now the black mountain looms up, | Now the yellow mountain looms up, 
The tail of the “yellow wing” looms up, | The tail that is yellow looms up, 

My treasure, my sacrifice, loom up. | My treasure, my sacrifice, loom up. 
Land-where-they-moved-out looms up, Land-where-they-moved-out looms up, 
Now the blue mountain looms up, Now the white mountain looms up, 
The tail of the hen-hawk looms up, The tail of the magpie looms up, 

My treasure, my sacrifice, loom up. My treasure, my sacrifice, loom up. 


201. FIRST SONG OF THE MOUNTAIN SHEEP. 


1. Yiki Gasizini, 6. Kag Teikeé ¢igini, 
2. Kag Tsilké-¢igini, 7. Katsoye yisgani, 
3. Kae kiitso-yisgani, 8. Yiki ¢asizini, 

4. Tsi¢a baiilili, 9, Tsi¢a baiilili, 

5. Bija-yetigingo. 10, Bija-ye¢igingo. 


202. Translation.—1, 8. Yiki, upon it; ¢asizin, he stands on high. 2, 6. Kag, now; 
tsilke, young man; teike, young woman; ¢igini, holy. 3. Kdtso-yisgan, the great 
plumed arrow; kiitsoye yisgan, with the great plumed arrow. 4, 9. Tsi¢a, truly, 
verily; bailili, an alili, a show, a rite, or implement used in a dance for him. 5, 
10. Bija, his treasure, his special property, his peculiar belonging; ye, with, a prefix 
forming nouns which denote the means; ¢igingo, positively holy or supernatural. 
Bija-ye¢igingo might be translated ‘‘ charm” or ‘ talisman.” 


203. Free translation. 


He stands high upon it; Verily his own sacred implement, 
Now the Holy Young Man [Young Woman, | His treasure, by virtue of which he is truly 
in second stanza], | holy. 


With the great plumed arrow, 


204, A reference to the myth and the description of the ceremonies 
will probably be sufficient to give the reader an understanding of this 
song. This set of songs, it is said, was first sung by the black sheep 
which stood on the rock as a sign to the Navajo fugitive; hence the 
name. (See paragraphs 35, 47, 48, 54.) 


205, SIXTH SONG OF THE MOUNTAIN SHEEP. 


Binagoolie [four times] oiiyéhe obhe, 


1. Kag Tsilke-¢igini, | 6. Kag Teiké-¢igini, 
2. Ca‘bitloli yeé, 7. Natsiligi yeé, 


‘ 
3. Tsi¢a bialili, 8. Tsi¢a bialili, 
4. Bija ye¢igingo, . Bija ye¢igingo, 
5. Binacodlde oiiyéhe obhe. | 10. Binagodlée oiiyéhe obhe, 


oy 


458 THE MOUNTAIN CHANT. 


206. Translation.—1, 6. Kac, now; tsilke, young man; tciké, young woman; ¢igini, 
holy one, god or goddess. 2. Ca‘bitlol, sunbeam, sunbeams; ye, with. 3, 8. Tsig¢a, 
verily; bialili (paragraph 3), his dance or sacred implement. 4, 9. Bija, his special 
property, his treasure; ye¢igingo, that by means of which he is ¢igin, i.e., holy or 
supernatural. 5, 10. Binagola, it is encircled. 7. Natsilig, the rainbow. 


207. Free translation. 


Now the Holy Young Man, | ~ Now the Holy Young Woman, 
With the sunbeam, | With the rainbow, 

Verily his own sacred implement, | Verily her own sacred implement, 
His treasure which makes him holy, | Her treasure which makes her holy, 
Is encircled. | Is encircled. 


208. Which is to say that the great plumed arrows which they bear 
are adorned with sunbeams and rainbows. They ‘shine in glory.” (See 
references in paragraph 204.) 


209. TWELFTH SONG OF THE MOUNTAIN SHEEP. 
1. Nayundni tceénia, 


2. Kag bigeiltsos teenia, 
3. Biqolgégo, teénia. 


4, Nayundni teenia, 
| 5. Kae bigenackdji teenia, 
| 6. Bigoleego, teenia. 

210. Translation.—1, 4. Nayundni, again on the other side, i. e., across two valleys. 
2. Bice, his horns; iltsos, slender; bigéiltsos, slender horns, i.e., the deer, by meton- 
omy. 3, 6. Biqolgégo, it is becoming to him. 5. Bigé, his horns; nackoj, turgid, 
filled out, stuffed; bicénackoji, turgid horns —metonymically, the mountain sheep, Ovis 
montana. The refrain, teénia, he appears, he comes in sight. 


911. Free translation. 


Far beyond he appears; | Far beyond he appears; 
Now ‘‘Slender Horn” appears. | Now ‘‘Turgid Horn” appears. 
His antlers are becoming. He appears. His horns are becoming. He appears. 


212. This song, it is said, refers to the time when the prophet saw 
the vision of the black sheep on the rock. (Paragraph 35.) The reason 
for introducing the deer into the song is not obvious. 


213. FIRST SONG OF THE THUNDER, 


1. Cona! Cona! A‘aiyehe obhe [repeat], 7. Cona! Cona! A‘atyéhe obhé [repeat], 
2. Yieakos ani‘; | 8. Ynyakod ani‘; 

3. [dnitdjié ani‘; | 9. Anilgani ani‘; 

4. Kos ¢ilhyil biyi‘dje, 10, Niinise bi¢qako, 

5. Nabizae¢ qolégo, | 11. Nabizag qolégo, 

6. Gona! Cona! A‘aiyéhe obhe. 12. Cona! Cona! A‘aiyéhe obhé. 


214. Translation.—1, 6, 7, 12. Gouna, an imitation of the thunder, not a word. 
2, 8. Yucako, above; yuyako, below; ani‘, any sound, the sound of the voice. 3. I‘¢- 
ni‘dji, pertaining to the thunder. 4. Kos, cloud; ¢illyil, black, dark ; biyi‘dje, within, 
or toward witbin it. 5,11. NAbiza¢ qolégo, again and again sounds his moving voice. 
9, Anileani, a general name for large meadow grasshoppers.—10. Nanise, plants in 
general; bigqdako, in among them. 


MATTHEWS. | SONGS OF SEQUENCE. 459 


215. Free translation. 


Thonah! Thonah! 

There is a voice below, 

The voice of the grasshopper. 
Among the plants, 

Again and again it sounds, 
Thonah! Thonah! 


Thonah! Thonah! 

There is a voice above, 
The voice of the thunder. 
Within the dark cloud, 
Again and again it sounds, 
Thonah! Thonah! 


216. TWELFTH SONG OF THE THUNDER. 


Aiena. 
Beqojonigo ani‘i [four times] odhe. 


1. Yugakod ani‘i; 6. Yiryakoé ani‘i; 
2. [¢ni‘djié ani‘; 7. Anilg¢ani ani‘i; 
3. Kos ¢ilhyil biyi‘dje, 8. Ndanise bie¢qako, 
4, Nabizae qolégo, | 9. Nabizae qolégo, 
5. Beqojonigo ani‘i, odhe. | 10. Beqojonigo ani‘i, o6hé. 


217. Translation.—Aiena, a meaningless beginning to many songs, which may be 
omitted. 1. Yigako, above. 2. I‘dni‘dji, pertaining to the thunder. 38. Kos, cloud; 
¢ilbyil, dark; biyi‘dje, within it. 4,9. Nabizag, his voice again, his voice repeated ; 
qolégo, sounds along, sounds moying. 5, 10. (Be, a prefix forming nouns of the cause 
or instrument; qojoni, local or terrestrial beauty ; go, a suffix to qualifying words) ; 
beqojonigo, productive of terrestrial beauty ; ani‘, a voice, a sound. 6. Yuyako, below. 
7. Anileani, grasshopper. & Ndnise, plants; bi¢qako, in among them. 


218. Free translation. 


The voice that beautifies the land! 
The voice below ; 

The voice of the grasshopper 
Among the plants 

Again and again it sounds, 

The voice that beautifies the land. 


The voice that beautifies the land! 
The voice above, 

The voice of the thunder 

Within the dark cloud 

Again and again it sounds, 

The voice that beautifies the land. 


219. FIRST SONG OF THE HOLY YOUNG MEN, OR YOUNG MEN GODS. 


ou 


. Aie ’¢qa nagaié, 

. Kag Teiké-igini, 
. Dsil ¢golij biyagi, 
. Biyaji naile. 


1. Obe ’eqa nagaié, | 
2. Kag Tsilkeé-¢igini, | 
3. Dsil ¢ilhyil biyagi, 

4. Biyaji naile. 


ac 


@ 


220. Translation.—1, 5. ’Cqa=bi¢qa, amid or among them; nagai, that, there. 
2. Kae, now; Tsilké-¢igini, Holy Young Man; Tciké-¢igini, Holy Young Woman. 
3, 7. Dsil, mountain; ¢ilbyil, black; ¢olij, blue; biyagi, at the foot of, at the base 
of. 4,8. Biyaji, his child; nailé, he lays down, he leaves. 


221. Free translation. 


There amid [the mountains], 
Now the Holy Young Man, 


At the foot of the black mountain, 


Lays down his child. 


There amid [the mountains], 
Now the Holy Young Woman, 
At the foot of the blue mountain, 
Lays down her child. 


222, The characters of Tsilke-¢igini and Tciké-¢igini are in the myth. 
The black mountain pertains to the male, the blue to the female. Al- 
though not told with the rest of the myth, it was subsequently related 
to the writer that Tsilke-¢igini said to the prophet, ‘‘ Whoever learns 


460 THE MOUNTAIN CHANT. 
our songs will thenceforth be our child.” The above song, it is said, 
has some reference to this promise; but a fuller explanation, no doubt, 


remains to be discovered. 


223. SIXTH SONG OF THE HOLY YOUNG MEN. 








Ajena. | 
Altsacié igini odhe. | — Altsacié ¢igini odhe. 
1. Altsacié ¢igini, altsacié ¢igini, altsacié | 6. Altsacié ¢igini, altsacié cigini, altsacié 
¢igini obhe. ¢igimi obhe. 
2. Kag Tsilkée-¢igini, bakagié ¢igini, 7. Kag Teike-¢igini, bakagié ¢igini, 
3. Dsil ¢ilhyili eé, bakagié ¢igini, 8. Dsil goliji eé, bakagié ¢igini, 
4. Tsintsoi ¢ilhyili e bakagié ¢igini, 9. Tsintsoi coliji, bakagié ¢igini, 
5. Tsi¢a bialili, bija ye¢igingo, bakagié | 10. Tsidéa bialili, bija ye¢igingo, bakagié 
¢igini, odhé, cigini, odhe. 


224. Translation.— 1, 6. Altsacié, on each side; ¢igini, a holy one, a god. 2,7. Kag, 
now; tsilkeé, young man; teiké, young woman; bakagi, on the summit, on top 
of it. 3,8. Dsil, mountain; ¢ilhyil, dark, black; golij, blue. 4, 9. Tsintsoi, great 
stick, a notched stick used as a musical instrument in the dance, 5, 10. Tsi¢a bialili, 
truly his dance implement; bija ye¢igingo, his holy treasure, his talisman, his charm, 
his magic wand. 

225. Free translation. 


There’s a god on each side. | There’s a god on each side. 

Now the Holy Young Man Now the Holy Young Woman 

Is the god on top of the black mountain, | Is the god on top of the blue mountain, 

With his black notched stick, | With her blue notehed stick, 

The implement of his dance, his magic ~The implement of her dance, her magic 
wand. | wand. 


226. This song is said to refer to that part of the myth where it is 
related that the prophet, flying from the Ute, climbed a hill which was 
transformed into a mountain. (Paragraph 38.) Each mountain was 
supposed to have a holy one on it, who could, by means of his notched 
stick, produce the metamorphosis. The mountains were not necessarily 
colored black and blue, but are thus described to indicate that they lay 
north and south of the prophet’s path. (Paragraph 171.) 


227. TWELFTH SONG OF THE HOLY YOUNG MEN. 
Eai 
al 
1 


E 
Ea 


éa qala éla yainahe, odhe. 
sa qala éla yainood yaaa yooo [three times], 
a gala éla yaina, qala éla qaindhe obhe. 


Yow 


1. Dsil ilhyili inloood yaaa yooo, 4. Dsil eoliji inl6006 yaaa yooo, 
2. Tsintsoi ¢illyili inloood yaaa yecé. | 5, Tsintsoi goliji inloood yaaa yeed, 
3. Ci cigélgo yaina, | 6. Ci cigélgo yaina, 

Qala éla qainahe odhe. | Qala éla qainahe odhe. 

228. Translation.—1, 4. Dsil, mountain; ¢ilhyil, black; ¢olij, blue. 2,5. Tsintsd, a 
notched stick used in ceremonies to make music; inlo (inla‘), they lie there (two long 
hard things lie). 3, 6. Cigeél, my ultimatum, my desideratum (said of the peculiar 
sacrifice which belongs to each god), something I (the god) will have and accept 
nothing in place of it, my special sacrifice. 


MATTHEWS. ] SONGS OF SEQUENCE. 461 


229. Free translation. 


There lie the black mountains; There lie the blue mountains; 
There lie the black sticks ; There lie the blue sticks ; 
There lie my sacrifices. There lie my sacrifices. 


230. This is supposed to be a part of the instructions which the Holy 
Young Men and Holy Young Women gave to the prophet. The tsintso 
is made of cherry, which grows only on high mountains in the Navajo 
country. The sticks are painted black and blue. (See paragraph 
171.) The song alludes to all these facts. 


231. EIGHTH SONG OF THE YOUNG WOMEN WHO BECOME BEARS. 


Co¢igini(a oyahe obhe, Cotigini¢a oyahe, obhe, 
Cotigini¢a oya oya ooyaya Co¢igini¢a oya oya ooyaya, 
Haiyaya haiyaya haiyahe, odhe. | Haiyaya haiyaya haiyahe, obhe. 
1, Kag Tsilké-¢iginié go¢iginga haiyahe, | 4. Kag Teciké-¢iginié cotiginga haiyahe, 
obhe, obhe, 


2. Bitsintsdié ié go¢iginéa haiyAhe obhe, | 5. Bitsintsdié ié co¢igin¢ga haiyahe obhé, 
3. Tsi¢a bialilié bija-ye¢giginié, oya oya, 6. Tsi¢a bialilié bija-ye¢iginié, oyA oya, 
oyaya, oyaya, 
Haiyaya haiyaya haiyahe, odhe. | Haiyaya haiyaya haiyahe, odhé. 


232. Translation.— Co¢igini¢a, gocigin¢a, he is not a god; it is not holy; it is not 
divine. 1, 4. Kag, now; tsilké, young man; tcike, young woman; ¢igini, holy, su- 
pernatural. 2, 4. Bitsintsdi, his great notched stick. 3, 6. Tsi¢a, verily; bialili, his 
implement of the dance or rite; bija-ye¢igini, his treasure which makes holy; his 
mInagic wand, 

233. Free translation. 


The Holy Young Man is not divine; | The Holy Young Woman is not divine; 
His great notched stick is not holy ; | Her great notched stick is not holy; 


His magie wand is not holy. Her magic wand is not holy. 


254, This is supposed to refer to an altercation between these two 
gods, in which they tried to belittle each other. 

235. I have another song of this series, in which the idea is conveyed 
that their powers depend on their magie wands or notched sticks. 


236. ONE OF THE AWL SONGS. 


Owe owe owe yani yai owa" na a [repeat three times], 
Owe owe ini dhe odhe, 


1. ‘Ke-cac-natlehi nateagahi, | 5. Teike-¢igini nateagahi, 

2. Kag dsil ¢ilhyili bakagi natcagahi, 6. Dsil ¢oliji bakagi nateagahi, 

3. Kag ni‘ inzag ingi goholni¢a ona, 7. Kag ni‘ inzag ingi, goholni¢a dna, 
4. Kae ni‘ inza¢ ingi gonid¢a ona. | 8. Kag ni‘ inzae in¢i, gonid¢a ona. 


237. Translation.—1. Ke, an abbreviation of teiké; Tciké-cac-natléhi, maiden who 
becomes a bear; natcaga‘, she travels far, she walks or wanders far around. 2, Kag, 
now; dsil ¢ilhyil, black mountain; bakagi, on top of. 3, 4, 7, 8. Ni‘, earth, land; 
inza¢, distant; ing¢i, it lies, it stretches; goholnita, seems not to be; conid¢a, not ob- 
scure or dim like a faint distance. 6. Dsil ¢oliji bakagi, on top of the blue mount- 
ains. 


462 THE MOUNTAIN CHANT. 


238. Free translation. 


The Maid Who Becomes a Bear walks far | The Holy Young Woman walks far around 


around | On the blue mountains, she walks far 
On the black mountains, she walks far around. 

around. | Far spreads the land. It seems not far 
Far spreads the land. It seems not far [to her]. 

[to her]. Far spreads the land. It seems not dim 
Far spreads the land. It seems notdim | [to her]. 

[to her]. | 


239. FIRST SONG OF THE EXPLODING STICK. 


Aiena. 
Aieya ala aieya ie eé ieee [three times] ié la™. 
1, ’Ke-cac-natléhi dsilyi‘ ¢i¢ilko" ié na, | 3. Cabasgini go‘yi‘ ¢ifilko" ié na®, 
2. Dsilyi‘ ¢olkdlko"; dsil beko™nige ié na®, | 4. Co‘yi ¢olkdlko"; go‘beko™nice ié na®, 


1é na®™ yaha baia ié na® ai. | Té na™ yaha haia ié na® ai. 

240. Translation —1,3. ‘Ke-cac-natleéhi=Tcike-cac-natlehi, Young Woman Who Be- 
comes a Bear; Cabascin, the Otter; ¢i¢ilko", he or she set on fire in many places. 2, 
4. Dsil, mountains; dsilyi‘, in the mountains; ¢o‘, water, waters; ¢o‘yi‘, in the 
waters; ¢olkolko®, he set on fire as he went along; beko"nige, its fires in a line, its string 


of fires. 
241. Free translation. 


Young Woman Who Becomes a Bear set | The Otter set fire in the waters 

fire in the mountains In many places; as he journeyed on 
In many places; as she journeyed on There was a line of burning waters. 
There was a line of burning mountains. 


249, It is related that in the ancient days, during a year of great 
drought, these holy ones, on their way to a council of the gods, set fire 
to the mountains and the waters. The smoke arose in great clouds, 
from which rain descended on the parched land. The song alludes to 
this legend. 


243. LAST SONG OF THE EXPLODING STICK. 


Hie ieeé naaia aia i a ai a® a” [twice] ie. 
1. Tciké-cae-vatlehié ¢igini qayikalgo; | 5. Ka¢g Teike-¢igini ¢igini qayikalgo; ba- 
baniya aie. niya aie. 
2. Dsil aga ¢azagié ¢igini qayikalgo; ba- | 6. Kos aga ¢azagié ¢igini qayikalgo; ba- 


niya aie. niya aie. 
3. Tsi¢a ci cigeliye ¢igini qayikalgo; ba- | 7. Tsi¢a ci cigéliye ¢igini qayikalgo; ba- 
niya aie. niya aie. 
4, YAne ¢odlanego6 ¢isitsaaye. | 8, Yane fdodlanegoé ¢isitsaaye. 
Hie ieee naaia, ete. | Hie ieee naaia, ete. 


244. Translation.—1, 5, Tcike-cac-natlehi, Young Woman Who Becomesa Bear; Tcike- 
¢igini, Holy Young Woman, or young woman goddess; ¢igini qayikal, she journeyed 
seeking the gods; baniya, she found them, she met them. 2, 6. Dsil, mountains; 
kos, clouds; aga, peak, summit; ¢aza‘, many pointing upwards; (dsil aga ¢azagi, on 
many mountain peaks). 3,7. Tsi¢a, truly or true; cigél, my desideratum, my special 
sacrifice. 4,8. (/odlAne—oblaga, some one does not believe it; ¢isitsa, I have heard ; 
yane and other yocables are meaningless, 


MATTHEWS.] SONGS OF SEQUENCE. 463 


245. Free translation. 


Maid Who Becomes a Bear sought the gods | Holy Young Woman sought the gods and 


and found them ; found them; 

On the high mountain peaks she sought | On the summits of the clouds she sought 
the gods and found them ; the gods and found them; 

Truly with my sacrifice she sought the | Truly with my sacrifice she sought the 
gods and found them. gods and found them. 

Somebody doubts it, so I have heard. | Somebody doubts it, so I have heard. 


246. These songs are accompanied, in beating the drum, with a 
peculiar sharp strike like a sudden outburst or explosion. Hence, they 
say, the name, Tsin¢ilcoi Bigin. 


247. FIRST DAYLIGHT SONG, 
Cahiz¢ile, gahiz¢ile, ya ahaia la" [four times). 
1. Kag Yikai-aciké ¢ahiz¢ile, yaahaia la, ; 7. Bizag¢e qojogo gahiz¢ile, ya ahaia la®, 
2. Qaiyolkal¢e gahiz¢ile, ya ahaia la", | Cahiztile, gahiz¢ile, ete. 
3. Bitsidje yolkalgo ¢ahizéile, ya ahaia | 


la, | 8. Kag yikai-agée, gahiz¢ile, ya ahaia las, 
4. Bikéc¢e yolkalgo gahiz¢ile, yaahaiala™. 9. Naqotsdi¢e cahiz¢ile, ya ahaia la®. 
5. Bitsidje qojogo gahiz¢ile, ya ahaia la®, [Verses 3 to 7 are here repeated. ] 


6. Bikec¢e qojogo gahiz¢ile, ya ahaia la, | Cahiz¢ile, gahiz¢ile, ete. 

248. Translation.— Cahiz¢ile=g¢ahiz¢el, it hangs as a curtain or festoon; it hangs 
supported at both ends, i. e., the white curtain of dawn so hangs. 1. Yikai-aciké, 
the Daylight Boy, the Navajo dawn god. 2. Qayolkal¢e, from the place of dawn. 
3. Bitsidje, before him; yolkalgo, as it dawns, asthe night passes away. 4. Bikéc¢e, 
from behind him. Qojogo, in a beautiful (earthly) mauner. 7. Bizag¢e, from his 
voice. 8. Yikai-ageg, the Daylight Girl—the dawn goddess. 9. Naqotsoi¢e, from the 
land of yellow light (horizontal terrestrial yellow). 


249. Free translation. 


The curtain of daybreak is hanging, Behind him, in beauty, it is hanging; 

The Daylight Boy (it is hanging), From his voice, in beauty, it is hanging. 

From the land of day it is hanging; 

Before him, as it dawns, it is hanging; The Daylight Girl (it is hanging), : 

Behind him, as it dawns, it is hanging. From the land of yellow light, it is hang- 

Before him, in beauty, it is hanging; ing, &c. (substituting her for him and 
his). 


250. LAST DAYLIGHT SONG. 


Loleyée, Loleyée. Loleyée, Loleyée. 
Loleyés, Loleyée. Yahaiéee qanaai. 


1. Qayolkago, Loleyée. | 3. Kag a¢a yiskago. Loleyée. 
2. Kae Yikai-acikée. Loleyée. 4. Kag Yikai-agége. Loleyée. 
Loleyée, Loleyée. Yahaiée, qanaai. | Loleyée, Loleyée. Yahaiee, qanaai, 


251. Translation.—1. Qayolkago, in the place of dawn. 2, 4. Yikai-aciké and Yikai- 
agég, Daylight Boy and Daylight Girl (sce paragraph 248). 3. A¢a yiskago, it is day 
allaround. Refrain, loleyé, lullaby, a meaningless expression to indicate sleepiness. 


252. Free translation. 


Lullaby, lullaby. Now it is day. Lullaby. 
It is daybreak. Lullaby. | Now comes the Daylight Girl. Lullaby. 
Now comes the Daylight Boy. Lullaby. 


_ 


464 THE MOUNTAIN CHANT. 


253. As the daylight songs are sung just at dawn, in the corral, be- 
fore the dance ceases, their significance is apparent. 


OTHER SONGS AND EXTRACTS, 


254. SONG OF THE PROPHET TO THE SAN JUAN RIVER, 


Aiena. 4. Bighyisgo cinit ¢eya‘ 
1. Nagai gonilinié, uagai gonilinié, Hainiyéa, ete. 


2. Bichyisgo cini‘ }eya‘ 
Hainiyéa, hainiyéa, aiee nid haine- | 5. Nagai sa" bigoié, nagai gonilinié, 
yahe, oodhe. 6. Bighyisgo cini‘ feyat 
Hainiyea, ete. 
3. Nagai gointyelié, nagai gonilinié, 


255. Translation.—1. Nagai, that; ¢gonilini, flowing water, ariver. 2,4,6. Bighyis- 
go, across it; cini‘, my mind; ¢eya‘, it goes, or, it comes, it wanders to or from. 
3. Cointyéli, broad water. 5. Sa™ bigo, water of old age. 

256. For origin and free translation of this song, see paragraph 22. 

257. SONG OF THE BUILDING OF THE DARK CIRCLE. 


Oea oea, ea ea, he he; 
Oead oead, ed eed, he he, ee na® a. 


1. Dsilyit Neydni, cayoléli cayoleh ; | 5. Teike-¢igini, cayoléli cayoléli; 
2. Teoyaj ¢ilhyili, cayoléli cayoleéli ; fs Teoyaj goliji, cayoleli cayoleli ; 
3. Tsica alili, cayoléli cayolelhi ; | 7. Tsi¢a alili, cayoleli cayoleli ; 

4. Bija ¢igingo, cayoleli cayoleéli. | 8. Bija cigingo, cayoleli cayoleli. 


258. Translation.—1. Dsilyi‘ Neyani, Reared Within the Mountains, the prophet who 
instituted these ceremonies; cayoleli, he carries [something long and flexible, as a 
branch or sapling] forme. 2,6. Tcoyaj, a spruce sapling, diminutive of tco, spruce ; 
¢ilhyil, black; ¢olij, blue. 3, 7. Tsi¢a alili (usually tsi¢a bialili), truly a dance im- 
plement. 4,8. Bija ¢igingo (usually bija-ye¢igingo), a holy treasure, a magic wand. 


259. Free translation. 


Reared Within the Mountains carries for | The Holy Young Woman carries for me ; 


me ; A blue spruce sapling, she carries for me; 
A black spruce sapling, he carries for me; | An implement of the rites, she carries for 
Animplement of the rites, he carries for me; me ; 
A holy treasure, he carries for me. | A holy treasure, she carries for me. 


260. The evergreen poles used in the dance and in making the * dark 
circles,” to both of which this song probably refers, were, in all cases where 
J have observed them, made of pinon and not of spruce; but all dances 
I have witnessed were at altitudes of about six thousand feet, where 
pinon was abundant and spruce rare. In those portions of the Navajo 
country with which I am familiar the spruce (Pseudotsuga douglassii) 
grows plentifully at the height of eight thousand feet, sparsely below 
that. There is good reason for believing that the spruce is the true 
sacred tree of these rites and that the pinon is only a convenient sub- 
stitute. The song is called [nasjin Beni¢a, “that with which the dark 
circle is built.” Itis sang by the shaman at the eastern gate, while the 
young men are building the corral. (Paragraph 124.) I have other 


7 = 


MATTHEWS. } 


OTHER SONGS OF DSILYIDJE QACAL. 405 


slightly different versions of it, probably suitable for different occasions. 
The form given above is recited, under ordinary circumstances, when 
the patient is a woman. 


261. PRAYER TO DSILYI‘ NEYANI. 





1. Dsilyi‘ Neyani! 11. Ciné caa¢ilil, 

2. Dsil banaga! 12. Qojogo qa¢alge aci¢ilil, 
3. Tsilke ! 13. Citsidje qojolel. 

4. Nagani! 14. Ciké¢e qojolel. 

5. Nigél icla‘. 15. Ciza¢ qaqojolel. 

6. Na¢é hila‘. 16. Qojoni qaslé, 

7. Cike eaii¢ilil. 17. Qojoni gasle, 

8. Citeag caii¢ilil. 18. Qojoni qaslé, 

9. Citsés caii¢ilil. 19. Qojoni qasle. 

10. Cini‘ caidilil, 


262. Translation.—1. The name of the prophet. 2. Dsil, mountains, banaga, chief 
(or master) for them. 3. Tsilké, young man. 4. Nagani, chieftain. 5. Nigel, your 
peculiar sacrifice, i. e., the kegan; icla‘, I have made. 6. Na¢e, a smoke, i. e., the 
cigarettes (paragraph 87), for you; hila‘,is made. 7,8,9,10,11. Ciké, my feet; citcac, 
my lower extremities; citsés, my body; cini‘, my mind; cine, my voice; caii¢ilil, for 
me restore (as it was before) thou wilt. 12. Qojogo, in a beautiful manner; qadalge, 
repaired, mended; aci¢ilil, restore me thou wilt. 13, 14. Citsidje, in the direction 
before me; ciké¢e, from behind me; qojolel, wilt thou terrestrially beautify. 15. Cizac, 
my words; gaqgojolel, wilt thou personally beautify. 16, 17, 18,19. Qojoni, in earthly 
beauty ; qaslé, it is made, it is done. : 

263. In other prayers, closely resembling this in form, the shaman 
adds: ‘“ Beautify all that is above me. Beautify all that is below me. 
Beautify all things around me.” 

264. The division into verses is that of the chanter. Ue pronounces 
the name in the first line; the patient repeats it after him. Then he 
gives out the words in the second line, and so on. For free translation, 


see paragraph 88, 
265. SONG OF THE RISING SUN DANCE. 


Oduiyaye, odniyaye obniyahe Oduiyaye, ete. 


yale yahe heyiyoe [twice]. 


Holy Young Man. 
swallowed slowly or continuously. 
6. Tcihanoai, the sun. 
9. Tciké-igini, Holy Young Woman. 
13. Klehanoai, the moon. 


it sets. 
plumed cliff rose, i. e., cliff rose arrow. 


. Akos nisinle. 
Yahe, yahe eia ai. 


5 ETH 30 








1. Qanaigaece 8. Inaigdc¢e 

2. Tsilke-cigini 9. Teike-vigini 

3. Kidtso-yiscani 10. Awétsal-yiseani 
4. Yiyolnakoe 11. Yiyolnakoe 

5. Qano qukosko. 12. Qana qokosko, 
6. Tcihanoaie 13. Klehanoaie 

‘ 


. Akos nisinle. 


Yihe, yaéhe eia ai. 


266. Translation.—1. Qanaigdcye, from where it (the sun) rises. 2. Tsilke-¢igini, 
3. Katso-yisgani, the great plumed arrow. 4, 11, Yiyolna‘, he 
5, 12. Qano qakosko, it comes out by degrees. 
7, 14. Akos nisin, he is satisfied. 8. Inai¢de¢e, from where 


10. Awétsal-yiscini, prepared or 


466 THE MOUNTAIN CHANT. 


267. Free translation. 


Where the sun rises, Where the sun sets, 

The Holy Young Man The Holy Young Woman 
The great plumed arrow The cliff rose arrow 

Has swallowed Has swallowed 

And withdrawn it. And withdrawn it. 

The sun The moon 

Is satisfied. Is satisfied. 


268. This song is sung during the dance or alil deseribed in para 
graph 142. The conception of the poet seems to be that, the dance of 
the great plumed arrow having been properly performed, the sun- 
should be satisfied and willing to do the bidding of the dancers, i. e., 
rise when desired, on the pole. 


269. INSTRUCTIONS GIVEN TO THE AKANINILI. 


1. Git betedna nili*lel. | 5. Tsi® etlol akan baghyis hyis¢inile ; ako 

2. Cif ¢a‘naniltyel¢o. | bachyis hyis¢iledle. 

3. Cif beniqo¢ilsinlel. Aibinigi nizé¢ela‘. | 6. Tse‘ elkAgi akan hyis¢inile. 

4. (a‘yiltsisgo, ¢a‘bokdgo tse‘na akan | 7. Akoi kétso-yiscan; aibinigi djogile, 
hyis¢inile. | qo¢iginge behoéqo¢ilsin. 


270. Translation.—1. Qi‘, this; betedana, a thing to rise with (as you progress) ; nili®- 
lel, will make for you. 2. Qi‘, this; ¢a‘naniltyéléo, will carry you along anywhere. 
3. Beniqodilsinlel, by means of it people will know you; aibinigi, for this reason, or 
purpose; nize, your neck; ela‘, it hangs (once) around. 4. (a‘viltsisgo, at any little 
valley (yiltsis, a little valley); ¢a‘bokogo, at any gully or arroyo (boko‘, arroyo); 
tse‘na, across; akan, meal; hyis(inile, he sprinkles always across. 5. Tsi® etlol, the 
root of a tree; akan, meal; bachyis, across it; hyis¢inile, he sprinkles across; ako, 
then; hyiséilgdle, he steps across. 6. Tse‘ elkagi, on flat rocks; akan, meal; hyis- 
(inile, he sprinkles across. 7. Akoi, then, next; kdtso-yisgan, the great prepared 
arrow —so says the chanter, but he really refers to the in¢ia‘, or gobol¢a, the plumed 
wand which akdninili carries; aibinigi, for this purpose; djogile, he carries it (in the 
hand); qo¢iginve, from a holy place (cigin, holy); behoéqo¢ilsin, by means of it 
people know him. 


271. For free translation, see paragraph 102. 


272. PRAYER OF THE PROPHET TO HIS MASK. 


1. (Ja‘andje qahasdsigo angélini, cili®. 3. Ayatdéa® cocisyi‘gofoleéldéa, cili®, 
2. Hyininaleni, cili™. 4. Cai¢inilil. 


273. Translation.—1. Qa‘andje, at any time to you; qahasdsigo, when I spoke; an- 
gelini, always you made or did it, i. e., granted my request or assisted me; cili®, my 
domestic animal, my pet. 2. Hyininaleni, you were alive (once); cili", my pet. 
3, Ayana", be sure, take care; cola, negative; cisyi‘go, that I die; ¢olél, I desire, 
I beg (the divided negative makes one word of the sentence). 4. Caidinilil, watch 
thou for me, or over me. 


274. For free translation, see paragraph 27. 


MATTHEWS.] OTHER TEXTS AND ~ TRANSLATIONS. 467 


275. LAST WORDS OF THE PROPHET. 


1. Agalani, citsili. | 5. Ga‘no‘gilgo ayac in¢i¢alago, anilgAni 
2. Cakailge ye qo¢iginée. in¢i¢alago nagaiga cinai binibikégo- 
3. Ga‘conasidilselta. la‘ dsinisinle. 


4. (ta‘hoelcigo ¢a‘¢eltcilgo, nagaiga cinadi 
anila dsinisinle, 


276. Translation —1. Aqalani, greeting (farewell, in this case); citsili, my younger 
brother. 2. Cakailc¢e, for me they have come; ye, the yays, the gods; qo¢igin¢e, 
from a holy or supernatural place. 3. (('a‘, any, on any occasion, etc.; coda, nega- 
tive; na, again; si¢ilsel, you will see me); ¢a‘gonasi¢ilsél¢a, you will never see me 
again. 4. (@a‘hoelcigo, on any occasion as the rain passes, i. e., whenever it rains: 
¢a‘¢eltvilgo, whenever it thunders; nagaiga, in that; cinai, my elder brother; anila, 
is his voice; dsinisinle, you will think so. 5. (!a‘no‘¢ilgo, whenever they (crops) are 
ripening, i. e., in harvest time; ayac, small birds; ingi¢alago, of all kinds; anilgani, 
grasshoppers; nagaiga, in that, in those; cindi, my elder brother; binibikégola‘, is 
his ordering, his design (the trail of his mind); dsinisinle, go you will think. 


277. For free translation, see paragraph 79. 











SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION——BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY. 





THE SEMINOLE INDIANS OF FLORIDA. 


BY 


CLAY MacCAULEBY. 




















CONTENTS: 





Page 

Letter of transmittal ...... ...- ------ ---- 02-2 - + een oo nnn ce en ne cenene sence 475 
Ties Oth qy tan anes Cac pa teSS 56 GeGE SS SoSnoR SS SasoC oso toSeos oneroemmpO: a6 nce 477 

CHAPTER I. 

Personal characteristics ......-.--------- 1 ----- +--+ 222 eee ce eens eee cece 481 
Physical characteristics ..---..----- ---- ------ -----+ :--2er cee re et ceeeee 48 
Physique of the men.....-.-.----.---------+ -----+ -+2 ree reer eens 481 
Physique of the women..---. ----.------+-----+----2+ee2ere cree eee 482 
Clothing..---..-- Bee wee eee ieciaiceisanirems meee emtleminstorinninnaaa ne mc 482 
Costume of the men ....-...----.--------- 483 
Costume of the women 485 
Personal adornment .-.. ..-.---. ---------+ --- +--+ ----e erent ee ree 486 
Hairdressinf .----- <= =<<--- = 905 oon wo winem em wee wewinns en on 456 
Ornamentation of clothing .----.-------------- pp eeon ene oe aGao cee 487 

Tine OP GROS ae ae oe see we sone sence loaincl= s\rei- -isimlneiam © ain ental mm inininim en 487 

Silrenid is Bee oe ee ce eee cine we nle mmcin= Sami ielmnmim a minia= winless 488 

War Tings =. -2-- -22--- <n enn 2 =~ = en ew enn wees cnn conn 488 

Finger rings ...--- ---- ------ ---- --- 220 2-222 052 -oee cen n es ener eeee 489 

Silver ts. gold .... .----. ------ ++ 2222-2 eee ees tenes eee cee eee sees scene 489 
(ORs I) ok Saas Seneeo does Cee mncreeeo: Si cbe becca ne SO DoD Date bomOoc ae 489 

IVES Gees ie oe ne es Se Scans REC OCOD ERE ROb bade Boris OSC or 489 
Psychical characteristics ....-.------------ ----++ sree 22 rrr rect ee rrr 490 
Ko-nip-ha-tco ...--- .---0- ---- 222-2 en ee eee ne een nnn nnn ern rene cee 492 
Intellectual ability ...--.------------------ 20-25 eee cree cree e renee 493 

CHAPTER I. 

Seminole society .----. ---- ---. ---- ---+ - c= 22-2 cence ere rece rene es see ree cree 495 
The Seminole family .-.. ..-. ------+---- == --22 cone ener een ene cee eee cece 495 

(Ch THEI )seoocs soem 50 2oee so does Sees Oa oe ede aoCU eee SSIS 496 

WWE nae (tS) C56) Cee Se Eaee Beer anc 60 C060 Gee aace coc De Sooo 496 

Sab CAC ree re as oer eae ran nla le omic ininieiminimintnm sia ate emcketeintn teil 496 

(BUESR TTR oes a fe pe Se es 8 ele are eory Seen me EL 

Tht (1h pect ae cee eB aan cn ee ec aece Booder.= SOG Ee COSCO ok SSO Ca COM 497 

Gil dhood ee oe oe eee ee a eae ae eee a rieetan soci sinleminiem a=) icInin 498 
Seminole dwellings — I-ful-lo-ha-teo’s house. ----..-----++---- -------- 499 

RVOMel hee see ee ores cote fae eee emcee ia yee lmnialeineie nme nein mae 503 

TDG | py 8 aoe ESE COLO Sc SESE EE OCC COCR ED asp SSCIE DSC Sa EaC Cot 504 
@amp)fite 222 22-2 = cqce ce oo nen seinem an n==~ anna ene meena n noe 505 
Manner of eating.--.-..-.---- Bee riecigsise ase al en =enie mele = 505 


@ Amusements .--- -<-< soa cnnn won cne cone conn wane monn mecene woes noes cece 506 
The Seminole gens ....---.-- + sone cone ce ne cece ene eee ere n en cesees seeeesce 507 
Mellowhood cao. -<scoccc once cs ree ccc eccuwn sercccisseecwinresesscscene 508 


CONTENTS. 


Seminole society —Continued, . 
The Seminole tribe cece diaes 2 vars cs Sane coe eee ee cee cioee eee eae 


Mriballlorganizavione. qe. seesel ees eer ee ee =e eee eat ae eee eee 
NeatiOf POVELNMENE somes cme aae see eee eee see eee eee eee eee 
Ari ba OfL COL ae ete om ale sree eles iret ee 
Name of tribes. c 2.0.0 Sac ce acis ae sla eln loan ele eae ate tala seers ae 


SHEP GO oa Sonhos cep ch snepioobnesseSoecdccosns 6uosca scone nsec 
Is hint ese. So0co csp aceon oS CAR oSO ME op GaSe <a emacco soso obs Somaesec 
ishing, 2 <<. skis cnimeei onc o cs eacainsaioae le eaten ste osieais eee oisieeees 
Stock raisin Oy aseereceereeeeee = eee l= a ene eee eee eee eee 
ING RES epee Bo ease Glee Son SECO Soca Ong OsOn eSeurece CSn0 ecboSaRe.oncie 
Industrial ‘statistics. se ccsce lees cacien see smien nes See ee cee eeee aaaee 


Utensilsiandsimplementse. -- sees ee sees eee eae ee eee eet 
AWACEH TOS Soar SomSeonan osu bomenoo Soobbo. caamecenas bosasocsaposoDes 
Weavingiand! basket malin@ 2. sere a -c-soaeee as eeesen eee 
Usesiofthexpalimettoves ac-seece ee aat ee eee keen acters ietaeiees 
Mortar and pestle -...-.........-..- SREGRS Soe coe cod osoSHQebooSSS 
Canoomalsing eae eames cie tania el misemieteia ee eae ee sere series 
Hiremaking Es scecccssne cles aeemee ce eee eee nes ee eee 
Preparationionskinsle-mecemese ere tee reese aeeer PEbocasnecs 
OrnamentalWants ese 5)ce eta aha a alee alee ata eae eee 
WEIKY Bare oe eb a5 copa neemeO no SosSdSAS code Sasa stocsocesd occenacrss 


UF) Niners iy Sone nome DEO UOD, Seanoo bade Ro abne couD DboE Soo bagneacneoncée 


Milo eUiee na? CWI KOr Ss Gos maSche éososs cose asco ussoos ce este See os beso cote 
(Engeyay OL rue IDEN N=) A Sere poco eanoas sje seseoue odoace cara ceca on 


Generaliobservationss= 1-5 sss) ance ee eee eee ace eee nace aan oeee rae 


Standard of value... ~ cocioccsnps cc seis cuate oq) hemes ae rcte eareie avaeietele ee ears 
IDUVISIONS OL LING seo = eee ema alm aaa a a tee eee 
INMET ATION. Soc 2 nraw.ni<crialoee Sete yere Ss ee alee enn is ale ee Sianeli erareto ne atest 
Seuselof Colones= sc. esee meee ane ase elem ee cee eet ao ete areata 
IGOR NN Aap eeh Goeahe adoeaodbeUSE SoessH oops so nemmoniocesacaoaSacSeds 
INGA a aen5 RecoCOnGeSDSSeSSh enooto noooEpSbaans DosEGO. cosmnD aad ates 
VG ailit avo scyevsreracicte eserves ciate ols erela eiote tele tetotetsiate eteapatetate etek stent eteteteteretetene 


Hnvironment Oba Semin Ol eyes seers eee re tetera atelier leet tetera stele aarti 
Naturer= seen s= Boenoces oossne vesicon ceeuco sasincn psaceccoroease cacecaqnee 


PEUSTRAETONS: 


EE ID RiMme@ Gy NTS en. Gea coeroe te ose be oe BOSE ON EEE OOE eDOCS 


Fic. 60. 


61. 
62. 
63. 
64. 


65. 


66. 


WAG t LONG a ema g mcininwe on mieisinn sions (eaiaeen aos asic a's~ eels elmisternala 


Seminole costume.......-- Bee eyecare eps Saleen ea eine a= Sac evsie salsa soos 
LUE? MVGRTE LIN aes nes Gs SOCOE SSO GCSES EpoCSS = Epa Saeone asropasence 
SCTE CONT eae ce BEB pbs Sone nObEGOSr <SGrEs Go=eEosE Soca a= ScaDoes 
Manner of wearing the) hait- --< 0-< cece cose ccce ne weseeee nsesnenn ss== 
Mame Ob PIOloll © TNO AN am onesies ecieecicd so 6 so6 cle sien enanle win ae= 


Bapyecradlo OM NammMocks wo.5.-<o. -s-ccececsme Scewcn save ses ccccee see's 


ee Ren poManyediw GUNN Oyen na sents cc see ine omer ninieele ince mecca ania sien enis 
. Sugar cane crusher ....-..-. newt ecvceicot a= Suse ococteseniesaenee ce ees 
Lb TOOT Go" 228 5 Se SSSR ee CO Se SEE CREE OOR ESA OC SOC OOOO GE SE SSRs Scaneds 


RON ORHOR LON peel totais anal ton sioini=- ee a aw elses naw aleeiae eae nasa 


PRINOOMUGIMASHEVOSHOL == .- cc coicnue cociacece acces ccacee senescence sess 
MPICOOUMTUN LEAN ec cle sene acs ic dain so cniceee.scjsceelcce SES Oe ated ees 


7a MAST PA! OSG) Sea Seed ero o Doon CN OG EOC ECON CODES Soe epe nod oeesereaoc 
. LAUTELD WSU FGI. = RS BERS Eke oom noccn ESOC Se CeEs aes acon 
AGS SOE Te Wok SS ee ee en BN Cor SSS oo ScDCCO eco SnOSSooIe 
OG) STENT TI OREN S sSootenen gps CH DOre GEO Do55 CHOHOd SECO RS Se ncnede seoee 


PAGTBOU! COFNMD ANCE a. c,<c 0 cacciccsclccisess.snee cose coceccers acces acc ces 


Page. 


500 


& 





—  —— 


LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. 


MINNEAPOLIS, MINN., June 24, 1884. 

Sir: During the winter of 1880—S1 TI visited Florida, commissioned by 
you to inquire into the condition and to ascertain the number of the In- 
dians commonly known as the Seminole then in that State. I spent 
part of the months of January, February, and March in an endeavor to 
accomplish this purpose. I have the honor to embody the result of my 
work in the following report. 

On account of causes beyond my control the paper does not treat of 
these Indians as fully as I bad intended it should. Owing to-the igno- 
rance prevailing even in Florida of the locations of the homes of the Sem- 
inole and also to the absence of routes of travel in Southern Florida, 
much of my time at first was consumed in reaching the Indian country. 
On arriving there, I found myself obliged to go among the Indians 
ignorant of their language and without an interpreter able to secure 
me intelligible interviews with them except in respect to the commonest 
things. I was compelled, therefore, to rely upon observation and upon 
very simple, perhaps sometimes misunderstood, speech for what I have 
here placed on record. But while the report is only a sketch of a sub- 
ject that would well reward thorough study, it may be found to possess 

value as a record of facts concerning this little-known remnant of a once 
powerful people. 

I have secured, I think, a correct census of the Florida Seminole 
by name, sex, age, gens, and place of living. I have endeavored to 
present a faithful portraiture of their appearance and personal charac- 
teristics, and have enlarged upon their manners avd customs, as indi- 
viduals and as a society, as much as the material at my command will 
allow; but under the disadvantageous circumstances to which allusion 
has already been made, I have been able to gain little more than a 
superficial and partial knowledge of their social organization, of the 
elaboration among them of the system of gentes, of their forms and 
methods of government, of their tribal traditions and modes of think- 
ing, of their religious beliefs and practices, and of many other things 
manifesting what is distinctive in the life of a people. Tor these reasons 
I submit this report more as a guide for future investigation than as a 


completed result. 
475 


476 LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. 


At the beginning of my visit I found but one Seminole with whom I 
could hold even the semblance of an English conversation. To him I 
am indebted for a large part of the material here collected. To him, 
in particular, | owe the extensive Seminole vocabulary now in pos- 
session of the Bureau of Ethnology. The knowledge of the Seminole 
language which I gradually acquired enabled me, in my intercourse 
with other Indians, to verify and increase the information I had re- 
ceived from him. 

In conclusion, I hope that, notwithstanding the unfortunate delays 
which have oceurred in the publication of this report, it will still be 
found to add something to our knowledge of this Indian tribe not with- 
out value to those who make man their peculiar study. 

Very respectfully, 
CLAY MAcCAULEY. 

Maj. J. W. POWELL, 

Director Bureau of Ethnology. 


SEMINOLE INDIANS OF FLORIDA. 


By CLay MAcCAuULeEy. 
INTRODUCTION. 


There were im Florida, October 1, 1880, of the Indians commonly 
known as Seminole, two hundred and eight. They constituted thirty- 
seven families, living in twenty-two camps, which were gathered into 





MAP 


OF 


FLORIDA, 


SHOWING 


SETTLEMENTS 
OF THE 





SEMINOLE INDIANS, 
1880. 


. Big Cypress Swamp Settlement, 





. Miami River Settlement. 

Fish Eating Creek Settlement, 
. Cow Creek Settlement. 
7. Cat Fish Lake Settlement. 








Fic. 60. Map of Florida. 


five widely separated groups or settlements. These settlements, from 
the most prominent natural features connected with them, I have named, 
. 477 


478 SEMINOLE INDIANS OF FLORIDA. 


(1) The Big Cypress Swamp settlement; (2) Miami River settlement ; 
(3) Fish Eating Creek settlement; (4) Cow Creek settlement; and (5) 
Cat Fish Lake settlement. Their locations are, severally: The first, in 
Monroe County, in what is calied the “ Devil’s Garden,” on the north- 
western edge of the Big Cypress Swamp, from fifteen to twenty miles 
southwest of Lake Okeechobee; the second, in Dade County, on the 
Little Miami River, not far from Biscayne Bay, and about ten miles 
north of the site of what was, during the great Seminole war, Fort Dal- 
las; the third, in Manatee County, on a creek which empties from the 
west into Lake Okeechobee, probably five miles from its mouth; the 
fourth, in Brevard County, on a stream running southward, at a point 
about fifteen miles northeast of the entrance of the Kissimmee River into 
Lake Okeechobee; and the fifth, on a small lake in Polk County, lying 
nearly midway between lakes Pierce and Rosalie, towards the head- 
waters of the Kissimmee River. The settlements are from forty to sev- 
enty miles apart, in an otherwise almost uninhabited region, which is 
in area about sixty by one hundred and eighty miles. The camps of 
which each settlement is composed lie at distances from one another 
varying from a half mile to two or more miles, In tabular form the 
population of the settlements appears as follows: 















































| Population. 
| Divided according to age and sex. | 
Settlements ia ea, | 7 7 1 = a | eres im : ecu 
* a  Below5 | 5 to 10 | 10 to 15 | 15to 20) 20 to 60 Over 60 Pera 
| 3 years. years. years. years. | years. years. 
| Oo | 
ee | ee wees a ¥ | @ 
| | ese | | | PaaS iS 
Ds. oy Ws a i Wen Ms GO We F. M. | F.|M.| F.| 5 
- | a aa. ee ee a | 
| | | | | 
1. Big Cypress.... | 10} 4) 5) a2/ 2 LOW eto ee2a | 5) | ree: 2) 3 | 42) 31) 73 
2. Miami River -. 5 | 5 | <4 4) 4 5 | 3 We et Oa ee 1 | 2.) 32 | 31 63 
3. Fish Eating | 4 | a. Velposece | 2 (PR | eacl |) 98} 1 a5 | abl0 1 | Bi Patsy la) BPI 
Creek. | | | | . | 
4. Cow Creek...... | a) Bij 1 |.=--2: 3 Helsea|ede 1 | 4 Gy Meee Faas 7| S| 12 
5. Cat Fish Lake -.| 2 | --.--.- 2 3| 2 Ah ll |e ae a4 abs Dy AS 6S nee: 
( 38 46 8 | 9 |112 | 96 | 208 
Totals -.--. 4 — = as el 
Uj 22 84 7 | 208 | 
= pane Ne == ss 
a One mixed blood b One black. 
Or, for the whole tribe —. 
Males under 10 years of age. -----~ -- foc. occ ase cones mnie wepia= nea 21 
Males between 10 and 20 years of age.:....----.---. 12-202 --------«.--=---- AD 
Males between 20 and 60 years of age...-....---. .----- --- 2+ -ennee eo - Rife Ose: 
Males over 60 years Of age. ..- 22. 222 oe cone co wens eee ne ee enn e none oan ne == == 8 
— 112 
Females'under 10) years of age). 2<)-s—c-secee <n mee 2 niente alee elo 23 
Females between 10 and 20 years of age.... .-.. ----0.----0- ---- -----0 --- 2 18 
Females between 20 and 60 years of age.----..--------20. - ---------+------ 46 
Females over 60 years of age...--. ------ ---2~ --00 ne oo nn e ene econ =n 9 F 
— 9 


~~ = 


MACCAULEY.] POPULATION. 479 


In this table it will be noticed that the total population consists of 112 
males and 96 females, an excess of males over females of 16. This excess 
appears in each of the settlements, excepting that of Fish Eating Creek, a 
fact the more noteworthy, from its relation to the future of the tribe, since 
polygamous, or certainly duogamous, marriage generally prevails as a 
tribal custom, at least at the Miami River and the Cat Fish Lake settle- 
ments. It will also be observed that between twenty and sixty years of 
age, or the ordinary range of married life, there are 38 men and 46 women; 
or, if the women above fifteen years of age are included as wives for the 
men over twenty years of age, there are 38 men and 56 women. Now, 
almost all these 66 women are the wives of the 38 men. Notice, how- 
ever, the manner in which the children of these people are separated in 
sex. At present there are, under twenty years of age, 66 boys, and, 
under fifteen years of age, but 31 girls; or, setting aside the 12 boys who 
are under five years of age, there are, as future possible husbands and 
wives, 54 boys between five and twenty years of age and 31 girls under 
fifteen years of age—an excess of 23 boys. For a polygamous society) 
this excess in the number of the male sex certainly presents a puzzling 
problem. The statement I had from some cattiemen in mid-Florida I 
have thus found true, namely, that the Seminole are producing more 
men than women. What bearing this peculiarity will have upon the 
future of these Indians can only be guessed at. It is beyond question, 
however, that the tribe is increasing in numbers, and increasing in the 
manner above described. 

There is no reason why the tribe should not increase, and increase 
rapidly, if the growth in numbers be not checked by the non-birth 
of females. The Seminole have not been at war for more than twenty 
years. Their numbers are not affected by the attacks of wild ani- 
mals or noxious reptiles. They are not subject to devastating diseases. 
But once during the last twenty years, as far as I could learn, has 
anything like an epidemic afflicted them. Besides, at all the settle- 
ments except the northernmost, the one at Cat Fish Lake, there is an 
abundance of food, both animal and vegetable, easily obtained and easily 
prepared for eating. The climate in which these Indians live is warm 
and equable throughout the year. They consequently do not need 
much clothing or shelter. They are not what would be called in- 
temperate, nor are they licentious. The “sprees” in which they indulge 
when they make their visits to the white man’s settlements are too in- 
frequent to warrant us in classing them as intemperate. Their sexnal 
morality is a matter of common notoriety. The white half-breed does 
not exist among the Florida Seminole, and nowhere could [ learn that 
the Seminole woman is other than virtuous and modest. The birth of 
a white half-breed would be followed by the death of the Indian mother 
at the hands of her own people. The only persons of mixed breed 
among them are children of Indian fathers by negresses who have 
been adopted into the tribe. Thus health, climate, food, and personal 


480 SEMINOLE INDIANS OF FLORIDA. 


habits apparently conduce to an increase in numbers. The only ex- 
planation I ean suggest of the fact that there are at present but 208 
* Seminole in Florida is that at the close of the last war which the United 
States Government waged on these Indians there were by no means so 
many of them left in the State as is popularly supposed. As it is, 
there are now but 17 persons of the tribe over sixty years of age, and 
no unusual mortality has occurred, certainly among the adults, during 
the last twenty years. Of the 84 persons between twenty and sixty 
years of age, the larger number are less than forty years old; and un- 
der twenty years of age there are 107 persons, or more than half the 
whole population. The population tables of the Florida Indians pre 
sent, therefore, some facts upon which it may be interesting to spe ecu- 
late. 


OH APT Re: 


PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS. 


It will be convenient for me to describe the Florida Seminole as they 
present themselves, first as individuals, and next as members of a soci- 
ety. I know it is impossible to separate, really, the individual as such 
from the individual as a member of society; nevertheless, there is the 
man as we see him, having certain characteristics which we call per- 
sonal, or his own, whencesoever derived, having a certain physique and 
certain distinguishing psychical qualities. As such I will first attempt 
to describe the Seminole. Then we shall be able the better to look at 
him as he is in his relations with his fellows: in the family, in the com- 
munity, or in any of the forms of the social life of his tribe. 


PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS. 
PHYSIQUE OF THE MEN. 


Physically both men and women are remarkable. The men, as arule, 
attract attention by their height, fullness and symmetry of development, 
and the regularity and agreeableness of their features. In muscular 
power and constitutional ability to endure they excel. While these qual- 
ities distinguish, with a few exceptions, the men of the whole tribe, they 
are particularly characteristic of the two most widely spread of the fam- 
ilies of which the tribe is composed. These are the Tiger and Otter clans, 
which, proud of their Jines of descent, have been preserved through a 
long and tragie past with exceptional freedom from admixture with 
degrading blood. To-day their men might be taken as types of phys- 
ica, excellence. The physique of every Tiger warrior especially I met 
would furnish proof of this statement. The Tigers are dark, copper- 
colored fellows, over six feet in height, with limbs in good proportion; 
their hands and feet well shaped and not very large; their stature erect; 
their bearing a sign of self-confident power ; their movements deliber- 
ate, persistent, strong. Their heads are large, and their foreheads full 
and marked. An almost universal characteristic of the Tiger’s face is its 
squareness, a widened and protruding underjawbone giving this effect 
to it. Of other features, I noticed that under a large forehead are deep 
set, bright, black eyes, small, but expressive of inquiry and vigilance ; 
the nose is slightly aquiline and sensitively formed about the nostrils; 
the lips are mobile, sensuous, and not very full, disclosing, when they 


5 Era—3l 451 


482 SEMINOLE INDIANS OF FLORIDA. 


smile, beautiful regular teeth; and the whole face is expressive of the 
man’s sense of having extraordinary ability to endure and to achieve. 
Two of the warriors permitted me to manipulate the muscles of their 
bodies. Under my touch these were more like rubber than flesh. Notice. 
able among all are the large calves of their legs, the size of the tendons 
of their lower limbs, and the strength of their toes. I attribute this ex- 
ceptional development to the fact that they are not what we would call 
“horse Indians” and that they hunt barefoot over their wide domain. 
The same causes, perhaps, account for the only real deformity I noticed 
in the Seminole physique, namely, the diminutive toe nails, and for the 
heavy, cracked, and seamed skin which covers the soles of their feet. 
The feet being otherwise well formed, the toes have only narrow shells 
for nails, these lying sunken across the middles of the tough cushions of 
flesh, which, protuberant about them, form the toe-tips. But, regarded 
as a whole, in their physique the Seminole warriors, especially the men of 
the Tiger and Otter gentes, are admirable. Even among the children this 
physicalsuperiorityisseen. To illustrate, one morning Ko-i-ha-tco’s son, 
Tin-fai-yai-ki, a tall, slender boy, not quite twelve years old, shouldered a 
heavy “ Kentucky” rifle, left our camp, and followed in his father’s long 
footsteps for a day’s hunt. After tramping all day, at sunset he reap- 
peared in the camp, carrying slung across his shoulders, in addition to 
rifle and accouterments, a deer weighing perhaps fifty pounds, a weight 
he had borne for miles. The same boy, in one day, went with some older 
friends to his permanent home, 20 miles away, and returned. There 
are, as I have said, exceptions to this rule of unusual physical size and 
strength, but these are few; so few that, disregarding them, we may 
pronounce the Seminole men handsome and exceptionally powerful. 


PHYSIQUE OF THE WOMEN. 


The women to a large extent share the qualities of the men. Some 
are proportionally tall and handsome, though, curiously enough, many, 
perhaps a majority, are rather under than over the average height of 
women. As arule, they exhibit great bodily vigor. Large or small, they 
possess regular and agreeable features, shapely and well developed 
bodies, and they show themselves capable of long continued and severe 
physical exertion. Indeed, the only Indian women I have seen with at- 
tractive features and forms are among the Seminole. I would even 
venture to select from among these Indians three persons whom I could, 
without much fear of contradiction, present as types respectively of a 
handsome, a pretty, and a comely woman. Among American Indians, 
IT am confident that the Seminole women are of the first rank. 


CLOTHING. 


But how is this people clothed? . While the clothing of the Seminole 
is simple and scanty, it is ample for his needs and suitable to the life 
he leads. The materials of which the clothing is made ere now chiefly 


MACCAULEY.] MEN’S COSTUME. 483 


* fabrics manufactured by the white man: calico, cotton cloth, ginghams, 


and sometimes flannels. They also use some materials prepared by 
themselves, as deer and other skins. Of ready made articles for wear 
found in the white trader’s store, they 
buy small woolen shawls, brilliantly col- 
ored cotton handkerchiefs, now and then 
light woolen blankets, and sometimes, 
lately, though very seldom, shoes. 


COSTUME OF THE MEN. 


The costume of the Seminole warrior 
at home consists of a shirt, a necker- 
chief, a turban, a breech cloth, and, very 
rarely, moceasins. On but one Indian 
in camp did I see more than this; on 
many, less. The shirt is made of some 
figured or striped cotton cloth, generally 
of quiet colors. It hangs from the neck 
to the knees, the narrow, rolling collar 
being closely buttoned about the neck, 
the narrow wristbands of the roomy 
sleeves buttoned about the wrists. The 
garment opens in front for a few inches, 
downward from the collar, and is pock- 
etless. A belt of leather or buckskin 
usually engirdles the man’s waist, and 
from it are suspended one or more 
pouches, in which powder, bullets, pocket 
knife, a piece of flint, a small quantity 
of paper, and like things for use in hunt- 
ing are carried. From the belt hang 
also one or more hunting knives, each 
nearly 10 inches in Jength. I questioned one of the Indians about 
having no pockets in his shirt, pointing out to him the wealth in this 
respect of the white man’s garments, and tried to show him how, on his 
shirt, as on mine, these convenient receptacles could be placed, and to 
what straits he was put to carry his pipe, money, and trinkets. He 
showed little interest in my proposed improvement on his dress. 

Having no pockets, the Seminole is obliged to submit to several in- 
conveniences ; for instance, he wears his handkerchief about his neck.. 
I have seen as many as six, even eight, handkerchiefs tied around his 
throat, their knotted ends pendant over his breast; as a rule, they are 
bright red and yellow things, of whose possession and number he is 
quite proud. Having no pockets, the Seminole, only here and there 
one excepted, carries whatever money he obtains from time to time in. 
a knotted corner of one or more of his handkerchiefs. 





Fic. 61. Seminole costume. 


484 SEMINOLE INDIANS OF FLORIDA. 


The next article of the man’s ordinary costume is the turban. This 
is a remarkable structure and gives to its wearer much of his unique 
appearance. At present it is made of one or more small shawls. These 
shawls are generally woolen and copied in figure and color from the 
plaid of some Scotch clan. They are so folded that they are about 3 
inches wide and as long as the diagonal of the fabric. They are then, 
one or more of them successively, wrapped tightly around the head, the 
top of the head remaining bare; the last end of the last shawl is tucked 
skillfully and firmly away, without the use of pins, somewhere in the 
many folds of the turban. The structure when finished looks like a 
section of a decorated cylinder crowded down upon the man’s head. I 
examined one of these turbans and 
found it a rather firm piece of work, 
made of several Shawls wound into 
seven concentric rings. It was over 
20 inches in diameter, the shell of 
the cylinder being perhaps 7 inches 
thick and 3 in width. This head- 
dress, at the southern settlements, 
is regularly worn in the camps and 
sometimes on the hunt. While hunt- 
ing, however, it seems to be the gen- 
eral custom for the warriors to go 
bareheaded. At thenorthern camps, 
a kerclief bound about the head 
frequently takes the place of the 
turban in everyday life, but on dress 
or festival occasions, at both the 
northern and the southern settle- 
ments, this curious turban is the 
customary covering for the head of 
the Seminole brave. Having no 
pockets in his dress, he has discov- 
ered that the folds of his turban may 
be put to a pocket’s uses. Those 
who use tobacco (I say * those” be- 
cause the tobacco habit is by no 
means universal among the red men 
of Florida) frequently carry their 
pipes and other articles in their tur- 
bans. 

When the Seminole warrior makes his rare visits to the white man’s 
settlements, he frequently adds to his scanty camp dress leggins and 
moccasins. 

In the camps I saw but one Indian wearing leggins (Fig. 62); he, 
however, is in every way a peculiar character among his people, and 
is objectionably favorable to the white man aud the white man’s ways. 























Fic. 62. Key West Billy. 


ee 


MACCAULEY.] WOMEN’S COSTUME. 485 


He is called by the white men ‘‘ Key West Billy,” having received this 
name because he once made a yoyage in a canoe out of the Everglades 
and along the line of keys south of the Florida mainland to Key West, 
where he remained for some time. The act itself 
was so extraordinary, and it was so unusual for 
a Seminole to enter a white man’s town and re- 
main there for any length of time, that a com- 
memorative name was bestowed upon him. The 
materials of which the leggins of the Seminole 
are usually made is buckskin. I saw, however, 
one pair of leggins made of a bright red flannel, 
and ornamented along the outer seams with a 
blue and white cross striped braid. The moc- 
casins, also, are made of buckskin, of either a 
yellow or dark red color. They are made to lace 
high about the lower part of the leg, the lacing 
running from below the instep upward. As show- 
ing what changes are going on among the Semi- 
nole, I may mention that a few of them possess 
shoes, and one is even the owner of a pair of fron- 
tier store boots. The blanket is not often worn 
by the Florida Indians. Occasionally, in their 
cool weather, a small shawl, of the kind made to 
do service in the turban, is thrown about the 
shoulders. Oftener a piece of calico or white 
cotton cloth, gathered about the neck, becomes 
the extra protection against mild coolness in 
their winters. 


COSTUME OF THE WOMENG 














The costume of the women is hardly more 
complex than that of the men. It consists, ap- 
parently, of but two garments, one of which, for lack of a better Eng- 
lish word, I name a short shirt, the other a long skirt. The shirt 
is eut quite low at the neck and is just long enough to cover the 
breasts. Its sleeves are buttoned close about the wrists. The gar- 
meut is otherwise buttonless, being wide enough at the neck for it to be 
easily put on or taken off over the head. The conservatism of the 
Seminole Indian is shown in nothing more clearly than in the use, by the 
women, of this much abbreviated covering for the upper part of their 
bodies. The women are noticeably modest, yet it does not seem to 
have occurred to them that by making a slight change in their upper gar- 
ment they might free themselves from frequent embarrassment. In 
going about their werk they were constantly engaged in what our 
street boys would e¢all “ pulling down their vests.” This may have 
been done because astranger’s eyes were upon them; but I noticed that 
in rising or in sitting down, or at work, it was a perpetually renewed 


Fic. 63. Seminole costume. 


486 SEMINOLE INDIANS OF FLORIDA. 


effort on their part to lengthen by a pull the scanty covering hanging 
over their breasts. Gathered about the waist is the other garment, the 
skirt, extending to the feet and often touching the ground. ‘This is 
usually made of some dark colored calico or gingham. The cord by 
which the petticoat is fastened is often drawn so tightly about the 
waist that it gives to that part of the body a rather uncomfortable ap- 
pearance. This is especially noticeable because the shirt is so short that 
a space of two or more inches on the body is left uncovered between it 
and the skirt. I saw no woman wearing moccasins, and I was told 
that the women never wear them. [For headwear the women have noth- 
ing, unless the cotton cloth, or small shawl, used about the shoulders 
in cool weather, and which at times is thrown or drawn over the head, 
may be called that. (Fig. 63.) 

Girls from seven to ten years old are clothed with only a petticoat, and 
boys about the same age wear only a shirt. Younger children are, as 
a rule, entirely naked. If clothed at any time, it is only during ex- 
ceptionally cool weather or when taken by their parents on a journey 
to the homes of the palefaces. 


PERSONAL ADORNMENT, 


The love of personal adornment shows itself among the Seminole as 
among other buman beings. 

HAIR DRESSING, 

The coarse, brilliant, black hair of which they are possessors is taken 
care of in an odd manner. The men cut all their hair close to the head, 
except a strip about an inch wide, run- 
ning over the front of the scalp from 
temple to temple, and another strip, 
of about the same width, perpendic- 
ular to the former, crossing the crown 
of the head to the nape of the neck. 
Ateach temple a heavy tuft is allowed 
to hang to the bottom of the lobe of 
the ear. The long hair of the strip 
crossing to the neck is generally gath- 
ered and braided into two ornamental 
queues. I did not learn that these 
Indians are in the habit of plucking 
the hair from their faces. I noticed, 
however, that the moustache is com- 
monly worn among them and that a 
few of them are endowed with a rather 
bold looking combination of mous- 
tache and imperial. As an exception 
to the uniform style of cutting the hair of the men, I recall the comical 
appearance of a small negro half breed at the Big Cypress Swamp. 





Fic. 64. Manner of wearing the hair. 


MACCAULEY.] ORNAMENTS. 487 


His brilliant wool was twisted into many little sharp cones, which stuck 
out over his head like so many spikes on an ancient battle club. For 
some reason there seems to be a much greater neglect of the care of 
the hair, and, indeed, of the whole person, in the northern than in the 
southern camps. 

The women dress their hair more simply than the men. From a line 
crossing the head from ear to ear the hair is gathered up and bound, 
just above the neck, into a knot somewhat like that often made by the 
civilized woman, the Indian woman’s hair being wrought more into the 
shape of a cone, sometimes quite clongated and sharp at the apex. A 
piece of bright ribbon is commonly used at the end as a finish to the 
structure. The front hair hangs down over the forehead and along the 
cheeks in front of the ears, being what we call “banged.” The only 
exception to this style of hair dressing I saw was the manner in which 
Ci-ha-ne, a negress, had disposed of her long crisp tresses. Hers was 
a veritable Medusa head. A score or more of dangling, snaky plaits, 
hanging down over her black face and shoulders gave her a most repul- 
sive appearance. Among the little Indian girls the hair is simply 
braided into a queue and tied with a ribbon, as we often see the hair 
upon the heads of our school children. 


ORNAMENTATION OF CLOTHING. 


The clothing of both men and women is ordinarily more or less orna- 
mented. Braids and strips of cloth of various colors are used and 
wrought upon the garments into odd and sometimes quite tasteful 
shapes. The upper parts of the shirts of the women are usually em- 
broidered with yellow, red, and brown braids. Sometimes as many as 
five of these braids lie side by side, parallel with the upper edge of the 
garment or dropping into a sharp angle between the shoulders. Occa- 
sionally a very narrow cape, attached, I think, to the shirt, and much 
ornamented with braids or stripes, hangs just over the shoulders and 
back. The same kinds of material used for ornamenting the shirt are 
also used in decorating the skirt above the lower edge of the petti- 
coat. The women embroider along this edge, with their braids and the 
narrow colored stripes, a border of diamond and square shaped figures, 
which is often an elaborate decoration to the dress. In like manner 
many of the shirts of the men are made pleasing to the eye. I saw 
no ornamentation in curves: it was always in straight lines and angles. 


USE OF BEADS. 


My attention was called to the remarkable use of beads among these 
Indian women, young and old. It seems to be the ambition of the 
Seminole squaws to gather about their necks as many strings of beads 
as can be hung there and as they can carry. They are particular as to 
the quality of the beads they wear. They are satisfied with nothing 
meaner than a cut glass bead, about a quarter of an inch or more in 


A88 SEMINOLE INDIANS OF FLORIDA. 


length, generally of some shade of blue, and costing (so I was told by a 
trader at Miami) $1.75 a pound. Sometimes, but not often, one sees 
beads of an inferior quality worn. 5 

These beads must be burdensome to their wearers. In the Big Cy- 
press Swamp settlement one day, to gratify my curiosity as to how 
many strings of beads these women can wear, I tried to count those 
worn by “ Young Tiger Tail’s” wife, number one, Mo-ki, who had come 
through the Everglades to visit her relatives. She was the proud 
wearer of certainly not fewer than two hundred strings of good sized 
beads. She had six quarts (probably a peck of the beads) gathered about 
her neck, hanging down her back, down upon her breasts, filling the 
space under her chin, and covering her neck up to herears. It was an 
effort for her to move her head. She, however, was only a little, if any, 
better off in her possessions than most of the others. Others were 
about equally burdened. Even girl babies are favored by their proud 
mammas with a varying quantity of the coveted neck wear. The cum- 
bersome beads are said to be worn by night as well as by day. 


SILVER DISKS. 


Conspicuous among the other ornaments worn by women are silver 
disks, suspended in a curve across the shirt fronts, under and below the 
beads. As many as ten or more are worn by one 
woman. These disks are made by men, who may 
be called “jewelers to the tribe,” from silver quar- 
ters and half dollars. The pieces of money are 
pounded quite thin, made concave, pierced with 
holes, and ornamented by a groove lying just in- 
side the circumference. Large disks made from 
half dollars may be called ‘“ breast shields.” They 
are suspended, one over each breast. Among the 
disks other ornaments are often suspended. One 
young woman I noticed gratifying her vanity with 
not only eight disks made of silver quarters, but 
also with three polished copper rifle shells, one 
bright brass thimble, and a buckle hanging among 
them. Of course the possession of these and like 
treasures depends upon the ability and desire of 
one and another to secure them. 





Tic. 65. Manner of piercing 
the ear. 


EAR RINGS. 


Tar rings are not generally worn by the Seminole. Those worn are 
usually made of silver and are of home manufacture. The ears of most 
of the Indians, however, appear to be pierced, and, as a rule, the ears 
of the women are pierced many times; for what purpose I did not dis- 
cover. Along and in the upper edges of the ears of the women from 
one to ten or more small holes have been made. In most of these holes 


At ie — le 


MACCAULEY. ] ORNAMENTS. 489 


I noticed bits of palmetto wood, about a fifth of an inch in length and 
in diameter the size of a large pin. Seemingly they were not placed 
there to remain only while the puncture was healing. (Fig. 65.) 
Piercing the ears excepted, the Florida Indians do not now mutilate 
their bodies for beauty’s sake. They no longer pierce the lips or the 
nose; nor do they use paint upon their persons, I am told, except at 
their great annual festival, the Green Corn Dance, and upon the faces of 


their dead. 
FINGER RINGS. 


Nor is the wearing of finger rings more common than that of rings 
for theears. The finger rings I saw were all made of silver and showed 
good workmanship. Most of them were made with large elliptical tab- 
lets on them, extending from knuckle to knuckle. These also were 


home-made. 
SILVER VS. GOLD. 


Isaw no gold ornaments. Gold, even gold money, does not seem to be 
considered of much value by the Seminole. He is a monometalist, and 
his precious metal is silver. I was told by aecattle dealer of an Indian 
who once gave him a twenty dollar gold piece for $17 in silver, although 
assured that the gold piece was worth more than the silver, and in my 
own intercourse with the Seminole I found them to manifest, with few 
exceptions, a decided preference for silver. I was told that the Semi- 
nole are peculiar in wishing to possess nothing that is not genuine of 
its apparent kind. Traders told me that, so far as the Indians know, 
they will buy of them only what is the best either of food or of material 
for wear or ornament. 


CRESCENTS, WRISTLETS, AND BELTS, 


The ornaments worn by the men which are most worthy of attention 
are crescents, varying in size and value. These are generally about 
five inches long, an inch in width at the widest part, and of the thick- 
ness of ordinary tin. These articles are also made from silver coins 
and are of home manufacture. They are worn suspended from the neck 
by cords, in the cusps of the crescents, one below another, at distances 
apart of perhaps two and a half inches. Silver wristlets are used by 
the men for their adornment. They are fastened about the wrists by 
cords or thongs passing through holes in the ends of the metal. Belts, 
and turbans too, are often ornamented with fanciful devices wrought 
out of silver. It is not customary for the Indian men to wear these 
ornaments in everyday camp life. They appear with them on a fes- 
tival occasion or when they visit some trading post. 

7 ME-LE. 

A sketch made by Lieutenant Brown, of Saint Francis Barracks, 

Saint Augustine, Florida, who accompanied me on my trip to the Cat 


490 SEMINOLE INDIANS OF FLORIDA. 


Fish Lake settlement, enables me to show, in gala dress, Mele, a half 
breed Seminole, the son of an Indian, Ho-laq-to-mik-ko, by a negress 
adopted into the tribe when a child. 

Me-le sat for his picture in my room at a hotel in Orlando. He had 
just come seventy miles from his home, at Cat Fish Lake, to see the 
white man and a white man’s town. He was clothed “in his best,” 
and, moreover, had just purchased and was wearing a pair of store 
boots in addition to his home-made finery. He was the owner of the 
one pair of red flannel leggins of which I have spoken. These 
were not long enough to cover the brown skin of his sturdy thighs. 
His ornaments were silver crescents, wristlets, a silver studded belt, 
and a peculiar battlement-like band of silver on the edge of his tur- 
ban. Notice his uncropped head of luxuriant, curly hair, the only 
exception I observed to the singular cut of hair peculiar to the 
Seminole men. Me-le, however, is in many cther more important re- 
spects an exceptional character. He is not at all in favor with the 
Seminole of pure blood. ‘“ Me-le ho-lo-wa kis” (Me-le is of no account) 
was the judgment passed upon him to me by some of the Indians. 
Why? Because he likes the white man and would live the white man’s 
life if he knew how to break away safely from his tribe. He has been 
progressive enough to build for himself a frame house, inclosed on all 
sides and entered by adoor. More than that, he is not satisfied with the 
hunting habits and the simple agriculture of his people, nor with their 
ways of doing other things. He has started an orange grove, and in a 
short time will have a hundred trees, so he says, bearing fruit. He has 
bought and uses a sewing machine, and he was intelligent enough, so 
the report goes, when the machine had been taken to pieces in his 
presence, to put it together again without mistake. He once called 
off for me from a newspaper the names of the letters of our alphabet. 
and legibly wrote his English name, ‘John Willis Mik-ko.” Mik-ko 
has a restless, inquisitive mind, and deserves the notice and care of 
those who are interested in the progress of this people. Seeking him 
one day at Orlando, I found him busily studying the locomotive engine 
of the little road which had been pushed out into that part of the fron- 
tier of Florida’s civilized population. Next morning he was at the sta- 
tion to see the train depart, and told me he would like to go with me 
to Jacksonville. He is the only Florida Seminole, 1 believe, who had 
at that time seen a railway. 


PSYCHICAL CHARACTERISTICS. 


IT shall now glance at what may more properly be called the psychical 
characteristics of the Florida Indians. I have been led to the conelu- 
sion that for Indians they have attained a relatively high degree of 
psychical development. They are an uncivilized, I hardly like to call 
them a savage, people. They are antagonistic to white men, as a race, 
and to the white man’s culture, but they have characteristics of their 


a a. 


MACCAULEY.] SEMINOLE CHARACTER. 491 


own, many of which are commendable. They are decided in their enmity 
to any representative of the white man’s government and to every thing 
which bears upon if the government’s mark. To one, however, who is 
acquainted with recent history this enmity is but natural, and a con- 
fessed representative of the government need not be surprised at 
finding in the Seminole only forbidding and unlovely qualities. But 
when suspicion is disarmed, one whom they have welcomed to their 
confidence will find them evineing characteristics which will excite 
his admiration and esteem. I was fortunate enough to be introduced 
to the Seminole, not as a representative of our National Government, 
but under conditions which induced them to welcome me as a friend. 
In my intercourse with them, I found them to be not only the brave, 
self reliant, proud people who have from time to time withstood our 
nation’s armies in defense of their rights, but also a people amiable, 
affectionate, truthful, and communicative. Nor are they devoid of a 
sense of humor. With only few exceptions, I found them genial. In- 
deed, the old chief, Tis-te-nig-ge, a man whose warwhoop and deadly 
hand, during the last half century, have often been heard and felt 
among the Florida swamps and prairies, was the only one disposed to 
sulk in my presence and to repel friendly advances. He called me to 
him when I entered the camp where he was, and, with great dignity of 
manner, asked after my business among his people. After listen- 
ing, through my interpreter, to my answers to his questions, he turned 
from me and honored me no further. I call the Seminole communi- 
eative, because most with whom I spoke were eager to talk, and, as 
far as they could with the imperfect means at their disposal, to give 
me the information I sought. ‘ Doctor Na-ki-ta” (Doctor What-is-it) 
I was playfully named at the Cat Fish Lake settlement; yet the peo. 
ple there were seemingly as ready to try to answer as I was to ask, 
“Whatisit?” Isaid they are truthful. That is their reputation with 
many of the white men I met, and I have reason to believe that the rep- 
utation is under ordinary circumstances well founded. They answered 
promptly and without equivocation “ No” or“ Yes” or “I don’t know.” 
And they are affectionate to one another, and, so far as I saw, amiable 
in their domestic and social intercourse. Parental affection is charac- 
teristic of their home life, as several illustrative instances I might men- 
tion would show. I willimention one. Tél-la-hiis-ke is the father of six 
fine looking boys, ranging in age from four to eighteen years. Seven 
months before I met him his wife died, and when I was at his camp this 
strong Indian appeared to have become both mother and father to his 
children. His solicitous affection seemed continually to follow these 
boys, watching their movements and caring for their comfort. Es- 
pecially did he throw a tender care about the little one of his house- 
hold. I have seen this little fellow clambering, just like many a little 
paleface, over his father’s knees and back, persistently demanding 
attention but in no way disturbing the father’s amiability or serenity, 


492 SEMINOLE INDIANS OF FLORIDA. 


even while the latter was trying to oblige me by answering puzzling 
questions upon matters connected with his tribe. One night, as Lieu- 
tenant Brown and I sat by the campfire at Tél la-hiis-ke’s lodge—the 
larger boys, two Seminole negresses, three pigs, and several dogs, to- 
gether with Tal-la-hiis-ke, forming a picturesque circle in the ashes 
around the bright light —I heard muffled moans from the little palmetto 
shelter on my right, under which the three smaller boys were bundled 
up in cotton cloth on deer skins for the night’s sleep. Upon the moans 
followed immediately the frightened ery of the baby boy, waking out of 
bad dreams and erying for the mother who could not answer; “ Its- 
ki, Its-ki” (mother, mother) begged the little fellow, struggling from 
under his covering. At once the big Indian grasped his child, hugged 
him to his breast, pressed the little head to his cheek, consoling him all 
the while with caressing words, whose meaning I felt, though I could 
not have translated them into English, until the boy, wide awake, 
laughed with his father and us all and was ready to be again rolled up 
beside his sleeping brothers. I have said also that the Seminole are 
frank. Formal or hypocritical courtesy does not characterize them. 
One of my party wished to accompany Ka-tea-la-ni (“4 Yellow Tiger”) 
onahunt. He wished to see how the Indian would find, approach, 
and capture his game. ‘ Me go hunt with you, Tom, to-day?” asked 
our man. ‘ No,” answered Tom, and in his own language continued, 
“not to-day; to-morrow.” ‘To-morrow came, and, with it, Tom-to our 
camp. ‘ You ean go to Horse Creek with me; then I hunt alone and 
you come back,” was the Indian’s remark as both set out. I after- 
wards learned that Ka-tea-la-ni was all kindness on the trail to Horse 
Creek, three miles away, aiding the amateur hunter in his search for 
game and giving him the first shot at what was started. At Horse 
Creek, however, Tom stopped, and, turning to his companion, said, ‘* Now 
you hi-e-pus (go)!” That was frankness indeed, and quite refreshing to 
us who had not been honored by it. But equally outspoken, without 
intending offense, I found them always. You could not mistake their 
meaning, did you understand their words. Diplomacy seems, as yet, to 
be an unlearned art among them. 


KO-NIP-HA-TCO. 


Here is another illustration of their frankness. One Indian, Ko-nip- 
ha-tco (“ Billy”), a brother of “Key West Billy,” has become so desirous 
of identifying himself with the white people that in 1879 he came toCapt. 
I. A. Hendry, at Myers, and asked permission to live with him. Permis- 
sion was willingly given, and when I went to Florida this ‘ Billy” had 
been studying our language and ways for more thana year. At that time 
he was the only Seminole who had separated himself from his people and 
had cast in his lot with the whites. He had clothed himself in our dress 
and taken to the bed and table, instead of the ground and kettle, for sleep 
and food. ‘Meallsame white man,” he beastfully told me one day. But 


a ee 


MACCAULEZ. J SEMINOLE CHARACTER. 493 


I will not here relate the interesting story of “ Billy’s” previous life or 
of his adventures in reaching his present proud position. Itis sufficient 
to say that, for the time at least, he had become in the eyes of his people 
a member of a foreign Community. As may be easily guessed, Ko-nip- 
ha-teo’s act was not at all looked upon with favor by the Indians; it 
was, on the contrary, seriously opposed. Several tribal councils made 
him the subject of discussion, and once, during the year before I met 
him, five of his relatives came to Myers and compelled him to return 
with them for atime to his home at the Big Cypress Swamp. But to my 
illustration of Seminole frankness: In the autumn of 1880, Mat-te-lo, a 
prominent Seminole, was at Myers and happened to meet Captain Hen- 
dry. While they stood together “ Billy” passed. Hardly had the young 
fellow disappeared when Mat-te-lo said to Captain Hendry, “ Bum-by, 
Indian kill Billy.” But an answer came. In this case the answer of 
the white man was equally frank: “ Mat-te-lo, when Indian kill Billy, 
white man kill Indian, remember.” And so the talk ended, the Semi- 
nole looking hard at the captain to try to discover whether he had 
meant what he said. 
INTELLECTUAL ABILITY. 


In range of intellectual power and mental processes the Florida In- 
dians, when compared with the intellectual abilities and operations of 
the cultivated American, are quite limited. Butif the Seminole are to be 
judged by comparison with other American aborigines, I believe they 
easily enter the first class. They seem to be mentally active. When the 
full expression of any of my questions failed, a substantive or two, an 
adverb, and a little pantomime generally sufficed to convey the meaning 
tomy hearers. In their intercourse with one another, they are, as a rule, 
voluble, vivacious, showing the possession of relatively active brains and 
mental fertility. Certainly, most of the Seminole I met cannot justly 
be ealled either stupid or intellectually sluggish, and I observed that, 
when invited to think of matters with which they are not familiar or 
which are beyond the verge of the domain which their intellectual facul- 
ties haye mastered, they nevertheless bravely endeavored to satisfy me 
before they were willing to acknowledge themselves powerless. They 
would not at once answer a misunderstood or unintelligible question, 
but would return inquiry upon inquiry, before the decided “ I don’t 
know” was uttered. Those with whom I particularly dealt were ex- 
ceptionally patient under the strains to which I put their minds. Ko- 
nip-ha-teo, by no means a brilliant member of his tribe, is much to be 
commended for his patient, persistent, intellectual industry. I kept 
the young fellow busy for about a fortnight, from half-past eight in the 
morning until five in the afternoon, with but an hour and a half’s in- 
termission at noon. Occupying our time with inquiries not very inter- 
esting to him, about the language and life of his people, I could see 
how inuch I wearied him. Often I found by his answers that his brain 
was, to adegree,paralyzed by the long continued tension to which it was 


494 SEMINOLE INDIANS OF FLORIDA. 


subjected. But he held on bravely through the severe heat of an attic 
room at Myers. Despite the insects, myriads of which took a great in- 
terest in us and our surroundings, despite the persistent invitation of 
the near woods to him to leave ‘* Doctor Na-ki-ta” and to tramp off in 
them on a deer hunt (for ‘‘ Billy” is a lover of the woods and a bold and 
successful hunter), he held on courageously. The only sign of weak- 
ening he made was on one day, about noon, when, after many, to me, 
vexatious failures to draw from him certain translations into his own 
language of phrases containing verbs illustrating variations of mood, 
time, number, &c., he said to me: ‘Doctor, how long you want me to 
tell you Indian language?” “ Why?” Lreplied, ‘‘ are you tired, Billy?” 
‘‘No,” he answered, ‘a littly. Me think me tell you all. Me don’t know 
English language. Bum-by you come, next winter, me tell you all. 
Megoschool. Melearn. Me go hunt deer to-mollow.” I was afraid of 
losing my hold upon him, for time was precious. ‘ Billy,” I said, “you 
gonow. You hunt to-day. I need you just three days more and then 
you can hunt all the time. To-morrow come, and I will ask you easier 
questions.” After only a moment’s hesitation, ‘Me no go, Doctor; me 
stay,” was his courageous decision. 


a7 


OPA PDE 0 Tr. 


SEMINOLE SOCIETY. 


As I now direct attention to the Florida Seminole in their relations 
with one another, I sball first treat of that relationship which lies at 
the foundation of society, marriage or its equivalent, the result of 
which is a body of people more or less remotely connected with one 
another and designated by the term “ kindred.” This is shown either 
in the narrow limits of what may be named the family or in the larger 
bounds of what is called the clan or gens. [ attempted to get full in- 
sight into the system of relationships in which Seminole kinship is em- 
bodied, and, while my efforts were not followed by an altogether satis- 
factory result, I saw enough to enable me to say that the Seminole re- 
lationships are essentially those of what we may call their ‘‘mother 
tribe,” the Creek. The Florida Seminole are a people containing, to 
some extent, the posterity of tribes diverse from the Creek in language 
and iu social and political organization ; but so strong has the Creek in- 
fluence been in their development that the Creek language, Creek 
customs, and Creek regulations have been the guiding forces in their 
history, forces by which, in fact, the characteristics of the other peoples 
have yielded, have been practically obliterated. 

I have made a careful comparison of the terms of Seminole relation- 
ship I obtained with those of the Creek Indians, embodied in Dr. L. H. 
Morgan’s Consanguinity and Affinity of the American Indians, and I 
find that, as far as I was able to go, they are the same, allowing for the 
natural differences of pronunciation of the two peoples. The only 
seeming difference of relationships lies in the names applied to some 
of the lineal descendants, descriptive instead of classificatory names 
being used. 

I have said, “as far as I was able to go.” I found, for example, that 
beyond the second collateral line among consanguineous kindred my 
interpreter would answer my question only by some such answer as “T 
don’t know” or “No kin,” and that, beyond the first collateral line of 
kindred by marriage, except for a very few relationships, I could obtain 
no answer. 

THE SEMINOLE FAMILY. 


The family consists of the husband, one or more wives, and their 
children. I do not know what limit tribal law places to the number of 
wives the Florida Indian may have, but certainly he may possess two. 


There are several Seminole families in which duogamy exists. 
495 


496 SEMINOLE INDIANS OF FLORIDA. 
COURTSHIP. 


T learned the following facts concerning the formation of a family: 
A young warrior, at the age of twenty or less, sees an Indian maiden 
of about sixteen years, and by a natural impulse desires to make her 
his wife. What follows? He calls his immediate relatives to a coun- 
cil and tells them of his wish. If the damsel is not a member of the 
lover’s own gens and if no other impediment stands in the way of the 
proposed alliance, they select, from their own number, some who, at an 
appropriate time, go to the maiden’s kindred and tell them that they 
desire the maid to receive their kinsman as her husband. The girl’s rel- 
atives then consider the question. If they decide in favor of the union, 
they interrogate the prospective bride as to her disposition towards the 
young man. If she also is willing, news of the double consent is con- 
veyed through the relatives, on both sides, to the prospective husband. 
From that moment there is a gentle excitement in both households. 
The female relatives of the young man take to the house of the be- 
trothed’s motier a blanket or a large piece of cotton cloth and a bed 
canopy —in other words, the furnishing of anew bed. Thereupon there 
is returned thence to the young man a wedding costume, consisting of 
a newly made shirt. 

MARRIAGE. 


Arrangements for the marriage being thus completed, the marriage 
takes place by the very informal ceremony of the going of the bride- 
eroom, at sunset of an appointed day, to the home of his mother-in-law, 
where he is received by his bride. From that time he is her husband. 
The next day, husband and wife appear together in the camp, and are 
thenceforth recognized as a wedded pair. After the marriage, through 
what is the equivalent of the white man’s honeymoon, and often fora 
much longer period, the new couple remain at the home of the mother- 
in-law. Itis the man and not the woman among these Indians who 
leaves father and mother and cleaves unto the mate. After a time, 
especially as the family increases, the wedded pair build one or more 
houses for independent housekeeping, either at the camp of the wife’s 
mother or elsewhere, excepting among the husband’s relatives. 


DIVORCE. 


The home may continue until death breaks it up. Sometimes, how- 
ever, if occurs that most hopeful matrimonial beginnings, among the 
Florida Seminole, as elsewhere, end in disappointment and ruin. How 
divorce is accomplished I could not learn. I pressed the question upon 
Ko nip-ha-teo, but his answer was, ‘‘ Me don’t know; Indian no tell me 
much.” All the light I obtained upon the subject comes from Billy’s 
first reply, ‘‘ He left her.” In fact, desertion seems to be the only cer- 
emony accompanying adivorece. The husband, no longer satisfied with 
his wife, leaves her; she returns to her family, and the matter is ended. 


OO —— ed 


MACCAULEY.} FAMILY LIFE. 497 


There is no embarrassment growing out of problems respecting the 
woman’s future support, the division of property, or the adjustment of 
claims for the possession of the children. The independent self-support 
of every adult, healthy Indian, female as well as male, and the gentile re- 
lationship, which is more wide reaching and authoritative than that of 
marriage, have already disposed of these questions, which are usually 
so perplexing for the white man. So far as personal maintenance is 
concerned, a woman is, as a rule, just as well off without a husband as 
with one. What is hers, in the shape of property, remains her own 
whether she is married or not. In fact, marriage among these Indians 
seems to be but the natural mating of the sexes, to cease at the option 
of either of the interested parties. Although I do not know that the 
wife may lawfully desert her husband, as well as the husband his wife, 
from some facts learned I think it probable that she may. 


CHILDBIRTH. 


According to information received a prospective mother, as the hour 
of her confinement approaches, selects a place for the birth of her child 
not far from the main house of the family, and there, with some friends, 
builds a small lodge, covering the top and sides of the structure gener- 
ally with the large leaves of the cabbage palmetto. To this secluded 
place the woman, with some elderly female relatives, goes at the time 
the child is to be born, and there, in a sitting posture, her hands grasp- 
ing a strong stick driven into the ground before her, she is delivered of 
her babe, which is received and cared for by her companions. Rarely is 
the Indian mother’s labor difficult or followed by a prolonged sickness. 
Usually she returns to her home with her little one within four days 
after its birth. 

INFANCY. 

The baby, well into the world, learns very quickly that he isto make 
his own way through it as best he may. His mother is prompt to 
nourish him and solicitous in her care for him if he falls ill, but, as far 





Fic. 66. Baby cradle or hammock. 


From the first she gives her child the perfectly free use of his body 
and, within a limited area, of the camp ground. She does not bundle him 
into a motionless thing or bind him helplessly on a board; on the con- 
trary, she does not trouble her child even with clothing. The Florida 
Indian baby, when very young, spends his time, naked, in a hammock, 
or on a deer skin, or on the warm earth. (Fig. 66.) 

> ETH 


an 
OZ 





498 SEMINOLE INDIANS OF FLORIDA. 


The Seminole mother, [ was informed, is not in the habit of soothing 
her baby with song. Nevertheless, sometimes one may hear her or an 
old grandam crooning a monotonous refrain as she crouches on the 
ground beside the swinging hammock of a baby. I heard one of these 
refrains, and, as nearly as I could eatch it, it ran thus: 


D.C.ad lib, 






No-wut-tca, No-wut-tca. 


The hammock was swung in time with the song. The singing was 
slow in movement and nasal in quality. The last note was unmusical 
and uttered quite staccato. 

There are times, to be sure, when the Seminole mother carries her 
baby. He is not always left to his pleasure on the ground or in a ham- 
mock. When there is no little sister or old grandmother to look after 
the helpless creature and the mother is forced to go to any distance 
from her house or lodge, she takes him with her. This she does, usually, 
by setting him astride one of her hips and holding him there. If she 
wishes to have both her arms free, however, she puts the baby into the 
center of a piece of cotton cloth, ties opposite corners of the cloth to- 
gether, and slings her burden over her shoulders and upon her back, 
where, with his brown legs astride his mother’s hips, the infant rides, 
generally with much satisfaction. I remember seeing, one day, one jolly 
little fellow, lolling and rollicking on his mother’s back, kicking her and 
tugging away at the strings of beads which hung temptingly between 
her shoulders, while the mother, hand-free, bore on one shoulder a log, 
which, a moment afterwards, still keeping her baby on her back as she 
did so, she chopped into small wood for the camp fire. 


CHILDHOOD, 


But just as soon as the Seminole baby has gained sufficient strength 
to toddle he learns that the more he can do for himself and the more he 
can contribute to the general domestic welfare the better he will get 
along in life. No small amount of the labor in a Seminole household 
is done by children, even as young as four years of age. They can stir 
the soup white it is boiling; they can aid in kneading the dough for 
bread; they can wash the *“‘ Koonti” root, and even pound it; they can 
watch and replenish the fire; they contribute in this and many other 
small ways to the necessary work of the home. Iam not to be under- 
stood, of course, as saying that the little Seminole’s life is one of severe 
labor. He has plenty of time for games and play of all kinds, and of 
these I shall hereafter speak. Yet, as soon as he is able to play, he 
finds that with his play he must mix work in considerable measure. 


ia 
Oe ee ae 


MACCAULEY. | ARCHITECTURE. 499 
SEMINOLE DWELLINGS —I-FUL-LO-HA-TCO'S HOUSE. 


Now that we have seen the Seminole family formed, let us look at its 
home. The Florida Indians are not nomads. They have fixed habita- 
tions: settlements in well defined districts, permanent camps, houses 
or wigwams which remain from year to year the abiding places of their 
families, and gardens and fields which for indefinite periods are used by 
the same owners. There are times during the year when parties gather 
into temporary camps for a few weeks. Now perhaps they gather upon 
some rich Koonti ground, that they may dig an extra quantity of this 
root and make flour from it; now, that they may have a sirup making 
festival, they go to some fertile sugar cane hammock ; or again, that they 
may have a hunt, they camp where a certain kind of game has been 
discovered in abundance. And they all, as a rule, go to a central point 
once a year and share there their great feast, the Green Corn Dance. 
Besides, as I was told, these Indians are frequent visitors to one another, 
acting in turn as guests and hosts for a few days at atime. But it is 
the fact, nevertheless, that for much the greater part of the year the 
Seminole families are at their homes, occupying houses, surrounded by 
many comforts and living a life of routine industry. 

As one Seminole home is, with but few unimportant differences, like 
nearly all the others, we can get a good idea of what it is by deserib- 
ing here the first one I visited, that of I-ful-lo-ha-teo, or ‘‘ Charlie Osce- 
ola,” in the ‘Bad Country,” on the edge of the Big Cypress Swamp. 

When my guide pointed out to me the locality where “ Charlie” lives, 
I could see nothing but a wide saw-grass marsh surrounding a small 
island. The island seemed covered with a dense growth of palmetto and 
other trees and tangled shrubbery, with a few banana plants rising 
among them. No sign of human habitation was visible. This invis- 
ibility of a Seminole’s house from the vicinity may be taken as a 
marked characteristic of his home. If possible, he hides his house, 
placing it on an island and in a jungle. As we neared the hammock 
we found that approach to it was difficult. On horseback there was no 
trouble in getting through the water and the annoying saw-grass, but I 
found it difficult to reach the island with my vehicle, which was loaded 
with our provisions and myself. On the shore of ‘‘ Charlie’s” island is a 
piece of rich land of probably two acres in extent. At length I landed, 
and soon, to my surprise, entered a small, neat clearing, around which 
were built three houses, excellent of their kind, and one insignificant 
structure. Beyond these, well fenced with palmetto logs, lay a small 
garden. No one of the entire household—father, mother, and child — 
was at home. Where they had gone we did not learn until later. We 
found them next day at a sirup making at “Old Tommy’s” field, six miles 
away. Having, in the absence of the owner, a free range of the camp, 
I busied myself in noting what had been left in it and what were its 
peculiarities. Among the first things I picked up was a “cow’s horn.” 

This, my guide informed me, was used in calling from camp to camp. 


500 SEMINOLE INDIANS OF FLORIDA. 


Mountin a pile of logs, “Billy” tried with it to summon “Charlie,” 
thinking he might be somewhere near. Meanwhile I continued my 
search. I noticed some terrapin shells lying on a platform in one of the 
houses, the breast shell pierced with two hoies. ‘ Wear them at Green 
Corn Dance,” said “ Billy.” I caught sight of some dressed buckskins 
lying on a rafter of a house, and an oJd fashioned rifle, with powder horn 
and shot flask. I also saw a hoe; adeep iron pot; a mortar, made from 
a live oak (?) log, probably fifteen inches in diameter and twenty-four in 
height, and beside it a pestle, made from mastic wood, perhaps four feet 
and a half in length. 

A bag of corn hung from a rafter, and near it a sack of clothing, 
which I did not examine. <A skirt, gayly ornamented, hung there also. 
There were several basketware sieves, evidently home made, and vari- 
ous bottles lying around the place. I did not search among the things 
laid away on the rafters under the roof. A sow, with several pigs, lay 
contentedly under the platform of one of the houses. And near by, 
in the saw-grass, was moored a cypress “dug-out,” about fifteen feet 
long, pointed at bow and stern. 

Dwellings throughout the Seminole district are practically uniform 
in construction. With but slight variations, the accompanying sketch 
of I-ful-lo-ha-teo’s main dwelling shows what style of architecture pre- 
vails in the Florida Everglades. (PI. XIX.) 

This house is approximately 16 by 9 feet in ground measurement, 
made almost altogether, if not wholly, of materials taken from the 
palmetto tree. It is actually but a platform elevated about three feet 
from the ground and covered with a palmetto thatched roof, the roof 
being not more than 12 feet above the ground at the ridge pole, or 7 at 
theeaves. Eight upright palmetto logs, unsplit and undressed, support 
the roof. Many rafters sustain the palmetto thatching. The platform is 
composed of split palmetto logs lying transversely, flat sides up, upon 
beams which extend the length of the building and are lashed to the up- 
rights by palmetto ropes, thongs, or trader’s ropes. This platform is pe- 
culiar, in that it fills the interior of the building like a floor and serves 
to furnish the family with a dry sitting or lying down place when, as 
often happens, the whole region is under water. The thatching of the 
roof is quite a work of art: inside, the regularity and compactness of 
the laying of the leaves display much skill and taste on the part of the 
builder; outside—with the outer layers there seems to have been less 
care taken than with those within —the mass of leaves of which the roof 
is composed is held in place and made firm by heavy logs, which, bound 
together in pairs, are laid upon it astride the ridge. The covering is, I 
was informed, water tight and durable and will resist even a violent 
wind. Only hurricanes ean tear it off, and these are so infrequent in 
Southern Florida that no attempt is made to provide against them. 

The Seminole’s house is open on all sides and without rooms. It is, 
in fact, only a covered platform. The single equivalent for a room in it 

















= 





MACCAULEY.] ARCHITECTURE. 501 


is the space above the joists which are extended across the building at 
the lower edges of the roof. In this are placed surplus food and gen- 
eral household effects out of use from time to time. Household uten- 
sils are usually suspended from the uprights of the building and from 
pronged sticks driven into the ground near by at convenient places. 

From this description the Seminole’s house may seem a poor kind of 
structure to use as a dwelling; yet if we take into account the climate 
of Southern Florida nothing more would seem to be necessary. A 
shelter from the hot sun and the frequent rains and a dry floor above 
the damp or water covered ground are sufficient for the Florida In- 
dian’s needs. 

L-ful-lo-ha-teo’s three houses are placed at three corners of an oblong 
clearing, which is perhaps 40 by 30 feet. At the fourth corner is the 
entrance into the garden, which is in shape an ellipse, the longer diam- 
eter being about 25 feet. The three houses are alike, with the excep- 
tion that in one of them the elevated platform is only half the size of 
those of the others. This difference seems to have been made on account 
of the camp fire. The fire usually burns in the space around which the 
buildings stand. During the wet season, however, it is moved into the 
sheltered floor in the'building having the half platform. At Tus-ko-na’s 
camp, where several families are gathered, I noticed one building with- 
out the interior platform. This was probably the wet weather kitchen. 

To all appearance there is no privacy in these open houses. The only 
means by which it seems to be secured is by suspending, over where one 
sleeps, a canopy of thin cotton cloth or calico, made square or oblong 
in shape, and nearly three feet in height. This serves a double use, as a 
private room and as a protection against gnats and mosquitoes. 

But while I-ful-lo-ha-tco’s house is a fair example of the kind of 
dwelling in use throughout the tribe, I may not pass unnoticed some 
innovations which have lately been made upon the general style. There. 
are, I understand, five inclosed houses, which were built and are owned 
by Florida Indians. Four of these are covered with split cypress planks 
or slabs; one is constructed of logs. 

Progressive ‘ Key West Billy” has gone further than any other one, 
excepting perhaps Me-le, in the white man’s ways of house building. 
He has erected for his family, which consists of one wife and three chil- 
dren, a eypress board house, and furnished it with doors and windows, 
partitions, fioors, and ceiling. In the house are one upper and one or 
two lower rooms. Outside, he has a stairway to the upper floor, and 
from the upper floor a baleony. He possesses also an elevated bed, a 
trunk for his clothing, and a straw hat. 

Besides the permanent home for the Seminole family, there is also the 
lodge which it occupies when for any cause it temporarily leaves the 
house. The lodges, or the temporary structures which the Seminole 
make when “camping out,” are, of course, much simpler and less 
comfortable than their houses. I had the privilege of visiting two 


502 SEMINOLE INDIANS OF FLORIDA. 


“camping” parties—one of forty-eight Indians, at Tak-o- si-mac la’s 
cane field, on the edge of the Big Cypress Swamp; the other of twenty- 
two persons, at a Koonti ground, on Horse Creek, not far from the site 
of what was, long ago, Fort Davenport. 

I found great difficulty in reaching the “camp” at the sugar cane field. 
Twas obliged to leave my conveyance some distance from the island on 
which the cane field was located. When we arrived at the shore of the 
Saw-grass marsh no outward sign indicated the presence of fifty Indians 
so close at hand; but suddenly three turbaned Seminole emerged from 
the marsh, as we stood there. Learning from our guide our business, 
they cordially offered to conduct us through the water and saw-grass 
to the camp. The wading was annoying and, to me, difficult; but at 
length we secured dry footing in the jungle on the island, and after a 
tortuous way through the tangled vegetation, which walled in the camp 
from the prairie, we entered the large clearing and the collection of 
lodges where the Indians were. These lodges, placed very close to- 
gether and seemingly without order, were almost all made of white 
cotton cloths, which were each stretched over ridge poles and tied to 
four corner posts. The lodges were in shape like the fly of a wall tent, 
simply a sheet stretched for a cover. 

At a Koonti ground on Horse Creek I met the Cat Fish Lake In- 
dians. They had been forced to leave their homes to secure an extra 
supply of Koonti flour, because, as [ understood the woman who told 
me, some animals had eaten all their sweet potatoes. The lodges of 
this party differed from those of the southern Indians in being covered 
above and around with palmetto leaves and in being shaped some 
like wall tents and others like single-roofed sheds. The accompanying 
sketch shows what kind of a shelter TAl-la-has-ke had made for himself 
at Horse Creek. (Fig. 67.) 











Fic. 67. Temporary dwelling. 





a 
e 
’ 
a 


————— 


MACCAULEY.] HOME LIFE. 503 


Adjoining each of these lodges was a platform, breast high. These 
were made of small poles or sticks covered with the leaves of the pal- 
metto.. Upon and under these, food, clothing, and household utensils, 
generally, were kept; and between the rafters of the lodges and the 
roofs, also, many articles, especially those for personal use and adorn- 
ment, were stored. 

HOME LIFE. 


Having now seen the formation of the Seminole family and taken a 
glance at the dwellings, permanent and temporary, which it occupies, 
we are prepared to look at its household life. I was surprised by the 
industry and comparative prosperity and, further, by the cheerfulness 
and mutual confidence, intimacy, and affection of these Indians in their 
family intercourse. 

The Seminole family is industrious. All its members work who are 
able to do so, men as well as women. The former are not only hunters, 
fishermen, and herders, but agriculturists also. The women not only 
care for their children and look after the preparation of food and the 
general welfare of the home, but are, besides, laborers in the fields. In 
the Seminole family, both husband and wife are land proprietors and 
cultivators. Moreover, as we have seen, all children able to labor con- 
tribute their little to the household prosperity. From these various 
domestic characteristics, an industrious family life almost necessarily 
follows. The disesteem in which Tis-ko-na, a notorious loafer at the 
Big Cypress Swamp, is held by the other Indians shows that laziness 
is not countenanced among the Seminole. 

But let me not be misunderstood here. By a Seminole’s industry I do’ 
not mean the persistent and rapid labor of the white man of a northern 
community. The Indian is not capable of this, nor is he compelled to 
imitate it. I mean only that, in describing him, it is but just for me to 
say that heis a worker and not a loafer. 

As aresult of the domestic industry it would be expected that we 
should find comparative prosperity prevailing among all Seminole fami- 
lies; and thisis the fact. Much of the Indian’s labor is wasted through 
his ignorance of the ways by which it might be economized. He has 
no labor saving or labor multiplying machines. There is but little dif- 
ferentiation of function in either family or tribe. Each worker does all 
kinds of work. Men give themselves to the hunt, women to the house, 
and both to the field. But men may be found sometimes at the cook- 
ing pot or toasting stick and women may be seen taking care of cattle 
and horses. Men bring home deer and turkeys, &c.; women spend 
days in fishing. Both men and women are tailors, shoemakers, flour 
makers, cane crushers and sirup boilers, wood hewers and bearers, and 
water carriers. There are but few domestic functions which may be 
said to belong exclusively, on the one hand, to men, or, on the other, to 
women. 


504 SEMINOLE INDIANS OF FLORIDA. 


Out of the diversified domestic industry, as I have said, comes com- 
parative prosperity. The home is all that the Seminole family needs or 
desires for its comfort. There is enough clothing, or the means to get 
it, for every one. Ordinarily more than a sufficient quantity of clothes 
is possessed by each member of a family. No one lacks money or the 
material with which to obtain that which money purchases. Nor need 
any ever hunger, since the fields and nature offer them food in abun- 
dance. The families of the northern camps are not as well provided for 
by bountiful nature as those south of the Caloosahatchie River. Yet, 
though at my visit to the Cat Fish Lake Indians in midwinter the 
sweet potatoes were all gone, a good hunting ground and fertile fields 
of Koonti were near at hand for Teup-ko’s people to visit and use to 
their profit. 

FOOD. 


Read the bill of fare from which the Florida Indians may select, and 
compare with that the scanty supplies within reach of the North Caro- 
lina Cherokee or the Lake Superior Chippewa. Here is a list of their 
meats: Of flesh, at any time venison, often opossum, sometimes rabbit 
and squirrel, occasionally bear, and a laud terrapin, called the ** gopher,” 
and pork whenever they wish it. Of wild fowl, duck, quail, and turkey 
in abundance. Of home reared fowl, chickens, more than they are will- 
ing to use. Of fish, they can catch myriads of the many kinds which 
teem in the inland waters of Florida, especially of the large bass, called 
“trout” by the whites of the State, while on the seashore they can get 
many forms of edible marine life, especially turtles and oysters. 
Equally well off are these Indians in respect to grains, vegetables, roots, 
and fruits. They grow maize in considerable quantity, and from it 
make hominy and flour, and all the rice they need they gather from 
the swamps. Their vegetables are chiefly sweet potatoes, large and 
much praised melons and pumpkins, and, if I may classify it with veg- 
etables, the tender new growth of the tree called the cabbage palmetto. 
Among roots, there is the great dependence of these Indians, the 
abounding Koonti; also the wild potato, a small tuber found in black 
swamp land, and peanuts in great quantities. Of fruits, the Seminole 
family may supply itself with bananas, oranges (sour and sweet), limes, 
lemons, guavas, pineapples, grapes (black and red), cocoa nuts, cocoa 
plums, sea grapes, and wild plums. And with even this enumeration 
the bill of fare is not exhausted. The Seminole, living in a perennial 
summer, is never at a loss when he seeks something, and something 
good, to eat. I have omitted from the above list honey and the sugar 
cane juice and sirup, nor have I referred to the purchases the Indians 
now and then make from the white man, of salt pork, wheat flour, 
coffee, and salt, and of the various canned delicacies, whose attractive 
labels catch their eyes. 

These Indians are not, of course, particularly provident. I was toid, 


4 
a 
, 
{ 





MACCAULEY.] HOME LIFE. 505 


however, that they are beginning to be ambitious to increase their little 
herds of horses and cattle and their numbers of chickens and swine. 


CAMP FIRE. 


Entering the more interior, the intimate home life of the Seminole, 
one observes that the center about which it gathers is the camp fire. 
This is never large except on a cool night, but it is of unceasing inter- 
est to the household. It is the place where the food is prepared, and 
where, by day, it is always preparing. It is the place where the social 
intercourse of the family, and of the family with their friends, is en- 
joyed. There the story is told; by its side toilets are made and_house- 
hold duties are performed, not necessarily on account of the warmth 
the fire gives, for it is often so small that its heat is almost imper- 
ceptible, but because of its central position in the household economy. 
This fire is somewhat singularly constructed; the logs used for it are of 
considerable length, and are laid, with some regularity, around a center, 
like the radii of a circle. These logs are pushed directly inward as the 
inner ends are consumed. The outer ends of the logs make excellent 
seats; sometimes they serve as pillows, especially for old men and 
women wishing to take afternoon naps. 

Beds and bedding are of far less account to the Seminole family than 
the camp fire. The bed is often only the place where one chooses to 
lie. It is generally, however, chosen under the sheltering roof on the 
elevated platform, or, when made in the lodge, on palmetto leaves. It 
is pillowless, and has covering or not, as the sleeper may wish. If a 
cover is used, it is, as arule, only a thin blanket or a sheet of cotton 
cloth, besides, during most of the year, the canopy or mosquito bar. 


MANNER OF EATING. 


Next in importance to the camp fire in the life of the Seminole house- 
hold naturally comes the eating of what is prepared there. There is 
nothing very formal in that. The Indians do not set a table or lay 
dishes and arrange chairs. A good sized kettle, containing stewed 
meat and vegetables, is the center around which the family gathers 
for its meal. This, placed in some convenient spot on the ground 
near the fire, is surrounded by more or fewer of the members of the 
household in a sitting posture. If all that they have to eat at that 
time is contained in the kettle, each extracts, with his fingers or his 
Knife, a piece of meat or a bone with meat on it, and, hoiding it in oue 
hand, eats, while with the other hand each, in turn, supplies himself, 
by means of a great wooden spoon, from the porridge in the pot. 

The Seminole, however, though observing meal times with some reg- 
ularity, eats just as his appetite invites. If it happens that he has a 
side of venison roasting before the fire, he will cut from it at any time 
during the day and, with the piece of meat in one hand and a bit of 
Koonti or of different bread in the other, satisfy his appetite. Not 


y 


506 SEMINOLE INDIANS OF FLORIDA. 


seldem, too, he rises during the night and breaks his sleep by eating a 
piece of the roasting meat. The kettle and big spoon stand always 
ready for those who at any moment may hunger. There is little to be 
said about eating in a Seminole household, therefore, except that when 
its members eat together they make a kettle the center of their group 
and that much of their eating is done without reference to one another. 


AMUSEMENTS. 


But one sees the family at home, not only working and sleeping and 
eating, but also engaged in amusing itself. Especially among the chil- 
dren, various sports are indulged in. I took some trouble to learn what 
amusements the little Seminole had invented or received. I obtained 
a list of them which might as well be that of the white man’s as of the 
Indiaw’s child. The Seminole has a doll, i. e., a bundle of rags, a stick 
with a bit of cloth wrapped about it, or something that serves just as 
well as this. The children build little houses for their dolls and name 
them “camps.” Boys take their bows and arrows and go into the 
bushes and kill small birds, and on returning say they have been 
“turkey-hunting.” Children sit around a small piece of land and, stick- 
ing blades of grass into the ground, name it a ‘corn field.” They have 
the game of “hide and seek.” They use the dancing rope, manufacture 
a “see-saw,” play “leap frog,” and build a‘‘ merry-go-round.” Carrying 
a small stick, they say they carry arifle. I noticed some children at 
play one day sitting near a dried deer skin, which lay before them stiff 
and resonant. They had taken from the earth small tubers about an 
inch in diameter found on the roots of a kind of grass and ealled “deer- 
food.” Through them they had thrust shaip sticks of the thickness 
of a match and twice as long, making what we would call “teetotums.” 
These, by a quick twirl between the palms of the hands, were set to 
spinning on the deer skin. The four children were keeping a dozen or 
more of these things going. The sport they called “a dance.” 

I need only add that the relations among the various members of the 
Indian fawily in Florida are, as a rule, so well adjusted and observed 
that home life goes on without discord. The father is beyond question 
master in his home. To the mother belongs a peculiar domestic im- 
portance from her connection with her gens, but both she and her 
children seek first to know and to do the will of the actual lord of the 
household. The father is the master without being a tyrant; the 
mother is a subject without being a slave; the children have not yet 
learned self-assertion in opposition to their parents: consequently, 
there is no constraint in family intercourse. The Seminole household 
is cheerful, its members are mutually confiding, and, in the Indian’s 
way, intimate and affectionate. 








\ 


a 


MACCAULEY. ] CLANS OF THE SEMINOLE. 507 
THE SEMINOLE GENS. 


Of this larger body of kindred, existing, as I could see, in very dis- 
tinct formamong the Seminole, I gained but little definite knowledge. 
What few facts I secured are here placed on record. 

After I was enabled to make my inquiry understood, I sought to 
learn from my respondent the name of the gens to which each Indian 
whose name I had received belonged. As the result, I found that the 
two hundred and eight Seminole now in Florida are divided into the 
following gentes and in the following numbers: 





TIE NAN S 1 Vee nape een cee aaedocicad PAU) fe, Ne) ra Cas aeReceIpSCAaOeseoac 4 
Ae O re CUS teeta ramet nei hala aiosie Stet ||) IshONV OSE (2) aa So ee Same emcee 1 
EO G TET) S Ss ROSAS OOS Seat Oe OeeA oe AOR ONG mam) ean oes 1 
4. Bird gens..--..... RSA peewee 4l Unknown) Pentesss-o-s)ac~- o- == 10 
Tis WROTE ae Sins coedoe ce coesncns 18 

GPT AKGWTONS wna elecwiaemsciecae eos 15 TOW oes os ae onsds pastes 208 


I endeavored, also, to learn the name the Indians use for gens or clan, 
and was told that it is ‘* Po-ha-po-htim-ko-sin;” the best translation I 
can give of the name is ‘“‘ Those of one camp or house.” 

Examining my table to find whether or not the word as translated 
describes the fact, I notice that, with but one exception, which may not, 
after all, prove to be an exception, each of the twenty-two camps into 
which the thirty-seven Seminole families are divided is a camp in which 
all the persous but the husbands are members of one gens. The camp 
at Miami is an apparent exception. There Little Tiger, arather impor- 
tant personage, lives with a number of unmarried relatives. A Wolf 
has married one of Little Tiger’s sisters and lives in the camp, as prop- 
erly he should. Lately Tiger himself has married an Otter, but, instead 
of leaving his relatives and going to the camp of his wife’s kindred, 
his wife has taken up her home with his people. 

At the Big Cypress Swamp I tried to discover the comparative rank or 
dignity of the various clans. In reply, I was told by one of the Wind 
clan that they are graded in the following order. At the northernmost 
camp, however, another order appears to have been established. 


Big Cypress camp. Northernmost camp. 
1. The Wind. 1. The Tiger. 
2. The Tiger. 2. The Wind. 
3. The Otter. 3. The Otter. 
4. The Bird. . 4. The Bird. 
5. The Deer. 5. The Bear. 
6. The Snake. 6. The Deer. 
7. The Bear. 7. The Buffalo. 
&. The Wolf. 8. The Snake. 
9. The Alligator. 





10. The Horned Owl. 


This second order was given to me by one of the Bird gens and by 
one who calls himself distinctively a “ Tallahassee ” Indian. The Buffalo 


508 SEMINOLE INDIANS OF FLORIDA. 


and the Horned Owl clans seem now to be extinct in Florida, and I am 
not altogether sure that the Alligator clan also has not disappeared. 

The gens is “‘a group of relatives tracing a common lineage to some 
remote ancestor. This lineage is traced by some tribes through the 
mother and by others through the father.” “The gens is the grand 
unit of social organization, and for many purposes is the basis of goy- 
ernmeptal organization.” To the gens belong also certain rights and 
duties. 

Of the characteristics of the gentes of the Florida Seminole, I know 
only that a man may not marry a woman of his own clan, that the 
children belong exclusively to the mother, aud that by birth they are 
members of her own gens. So far as duogamy prevails now among the 
Florida Indians, I observed that both the wives, in every case, were 
members of one gens. I understand also that there are certain games 
in which men selected from gentes as such are the contesting partici- 
pants, 

FELLOWHOOD. 


In this connection I may say that if I was understvod in my inquiries 
the Seminole have also the institution of “‘ Fellowhood” among them. 
Major Powell thus-describes this institution: ‘Two young men agree 
to be life friends, ‘more than brothers,’ confiding without reserve each 
in the other and protecting each the other from all harm.” 


THE SEMINOLE TRIBE. 
TRIBAL ORGANIZATION. 


The Florida Seminole, considered as a tribe, have a very imperfect 
organization. The complete tribal society of the past was much broken 
up through wars with the United States. These wars having ended in 
the transfer of nearly the whole of the population to the Indian Ter- 
ritory, the few Indians remaining in Florida were consequently left in 
a comparatively disorganized condition. There is, however, among 
these Indians a simple form of government, to which the inhabitants of 
at least the three southern settlements submit. The people of Cat Fish 
Lake and Cow Creek settlements live in a large measure independent 
of or without civil connection with the others. Teup-ko calls his peo- 
ple * Tallahassee Indians.” He says that they are not ‘“ the same” as 
the Fish Eating Creek, Big Cypress, and Miami people. I learned, 
moreover, that the ceremony of the Green Corn Dance may take place 
at the three last named settlements and not at those of the north. The 
“Tallahassee Indians” go to Fish Hating Creek if they desire to take 
part ip the festival. 


SEAT OF GOVERNMENT. 


So far as there is a common seat of government, it is located at Fish 
Eating Oreek, where reside the head chief and big medicine man of 





MACCAULEY.] TRIBAL RELATIONS. 509 


the Seminole, Tiis-ta-ntig-ge, and his brother, H6s-pa-ta-ki, also a medi- 
cine man. These two are called the Tis-ta-niig-ul-ki, or “ great heroes” 
of thetribe. At this settlement, annually, a council, composed of minor 
chiefs from the various settlements, meets and passes upon the affairs of 
the tribe. 

TRIBAL OFFICERS. 


What the official organization of the tribe is I do not know. My re- 
spondent could not tell me. I learned, in addition to what I have just 
written, only that there are several Indians with official titles, living at 
each of the settlements, except at the one on Cat Fish Lake. These 
were classified as follows: 





Chief and 














Settlements. cast Mie War chiefs. Little chiefs. | Medicine men. 

| | 
IBIS OP PLOss WAM. co was cece ce ese ene e eee omen nc as 2 2 1 
Miami River...-.-..- Sed Pe a sent Pete Se 1 
Fish Eating Creek. . 1 esos eros see eos en a aeene ss see 1 
(Oe ER OS Sos aS eee Sean OSOnEH SEC CSSESS Bay bse ata a6. 4254 ESAS oe se 2 
Aatal Serene e: S5-e en en 1 si 2 5 





NAME OF TRIBE. 


I made several efforts to discover the tribal name by which these In- 
dians now designate themselves. The name Seminole they reject. In 
their own language it means “a wanderer,” and, when used as a term 
of reproach, ‘‘a coward.” Ko-nip-ha-teo said, “‘ Me no Sem-ai-no-le ; 
Seminole cow, Seminole deer, Seminole rabbit; me no Seminole. In- 
dians gone Arkansas Seminole.” He meant that timidity and flight 
from danger are “Seminole” qualities, and that the Indians who had 
goue west at the bidding of the Government were the true renegades. 
This same Indian informed me that the people south of the Caloosa- 
hatchie River, at Miami and the Big Cypress Swamp eall themselves 
“ Kan-yuk-sa Is-ti-tea-ti,” i. e., “* Kan-yuk-sa red men.” Kéin-yuk-sa is 
their word for what we know as Florida. It is composed of I-kan-a, 
‘¢eround,” and I-yuk-sa, “ point” or ‘‘tip,” i. e., point of ground, or pen- 
insula. At the northern camps the name appropriate to the people 
there, they say, is “‘ Tallahassee Indians.” 


© EASE Br melee: 


SEMINOLE TRIBAL LIFE, 


We may now look at the life of the Seminole in its broader relations 
to the tribal organization. Some light has already been thrown on this 
subject by the preceding descriptions of the personal characteristics and 
social relations of these Indians. But there are other matters to be 
considered, as, for example, industries, arts, religion, and the like. 


INDUSTRIES. 
AGRICULTURE. 


Prominent among the industries is agriculture. The Florida Indians 
have brought one hundred or more acres of excellent land under a rude 
sort of cultivation. To each family belong, by right of use and agree- 
ment with other Indians, fields of from one to four acres inextent. The 
only agricultural implement they have is the single bladed hoe com- 
mon on the southern plantation. However, nothing more than this is 
required. 

Soil.— The ground they select is generally in the interiors of the rich 
hammocks which abound in the swamps and prairies of Southern Flor- 
ida. There, with a soil unsurpassed in fertility and needing only to 
be cleared of trees, vines, underbrush, Ge., one has but to plant corn, 
sweet potatoes, melons, or any thing else suited to the climate, and keep 
weeds from the growing vegetation, that he may gather a manifold re- 
turn. The soil is wholly without gravel, stones, or rocks. It is soft, 
black, and very fertile. To what extent the Indians carry agriculture I 
do not know. I am under the impression, however, that they do not 
attempt to grow enough to provide much against the future. But, as 
they have no season in the year wholly unproductive and for which 
they must make special provision, their improvidence is not followed 
by serious consequences. 

Corn.— The chief product of their agriculture is corn. This becomes 
edible in the months of May and June and at this time it is eaten in 
great quantities. Then it is that the annual festival called the “* Green 
Corn Dance” is celebrated. When the corn ripens, a quantity of it is 
laid aside and gradually used in the form of hominy and of what I 
heard described as an “exceedingly beautifal meal, white as the finest 
wheat flour.” This meal is produced by a slow and tedious process. 
The corn is hulled and the germ cut out, so that there is only a pure 
white residue. This is then reduced by mortar and pestle to an almost 
impalpable dust. From this flour a cake is made, which is said to be 
very pleasant to the taste. 

510 


a ee 


MACCAULEY.] INDUSTRIES. 511 


Sugar cane.—Another product of their agriculture is the sugar cane. 
In growing this they are the producers of perhaps the finest sugar cane 
grown in America; but they are not wise enough to make it a source of 
profit to themselves. It seems to be cultivated more as a passing 
luxury. It was at**Old Tommy’s” sugar field I met the forty-eight of the 
people of the Big Cypress Swamp settlement already mentioned. They 
had left their homes that they might have a pleasuring for a few weeks 
together, “camping out” and making and eating sirup. Thecane which 
had been grown there was the largest I or my companion, Capt. F. A. 
Hendry, of Myers, had ever seen. It was two inches or more in diam- 
eter, and, as we guessed, seventeen feet or more in length. To obtain 
the sirup the Indians had constructed two rede mills, the cylinders of 

-which, however, were so loosely adjusted that full haif the juice was 
lost in the process of crushing the cane. The juice was caught in vari- 
ous kinds of iron and tin vessels, kettles, pails, and cans, and after hav- 
ing been strained was boiled until the proper consistency was reached. 






































































































































































































































































































































Fic. 68. Sugar cane crusher. 


At the time we were at the camp quite a quan ity of the sirup had 
been made. It stood around the boiling place in kettles, large and 
small, and in cans bearing the labels of well known Boston and New 
York packers, which had been purchased at Myers. Of special interest 
to me was a platform near the boiling place, on which lay several deer 
skins, that had been taken as nearly whole as possible from the bodies 
of the animals, and utilized as holders of the sirup. They were filled 
with the sweet stuff, and the ground beneath was well covered by a 
slow leakage from them. ‘Key West Billy” offered me some of the 


512 SEMINOLE INDIANS OF FLORIDA. 


cane juice to drink. It was clean looking and served in 4 silver gold 
lined cup of spotless brillianey. It made a welcome and delicious drink. 
T tasted some of the sirup also, eating it Indian fashion, i. e., I pared 
some of their small boiled wild potatoes and, dipping them into the 
sweet liquid, ate them. The potato itself tastes somewhat like a boiled 
chestnut. 

The sugar cane mill was a poor imitation of a machine the Indians 
lad seen among the whites. Its cylinders were made of live oak; the 
driving cogs were cut from a much harder wood, the mastic, I was told; 
and these were so loosely set into the cylinders that I could take them 
out with thumb and forefinger. (Fig. 68.) 

It is not necessary to speak in particular of the culture of sweet 
potatoes, beans, melons, &c. At best it is very primitive. It is, how- 
ever, deserving of mention that the Seminole have around their houses 
at least a thousand banana plants. When it is remembered that a 
hundred bananas are not an oyerlarge yield for one plant, it is seen 
how well off, so far as this fruit is concerned, these Indians are. 


HUNTING. 


Next in importance as an industry of the tribe (ifit may be so called) 
is hunting. Southern Florida abounds in game and the Indians have 
only to seek in order to find it. For this purpose they use the rifle. 
The bow and arrow are no longer used for hunting purposes except by 
the smaller children. The rifles are almost all the long, heavy, small 
bore “ Kentucky” rifle. This is economical of powder and lead, and for 
this reason is preferred by many to even the modern improved weapons 
which carry fixed ammunition... The Seminole sees the white man so 
seldom and lives so far from trading posts that he is not willing to be 
confined to the use of the prepared cartridge. 

A few breech loading rifles are owned in the tribe. The shot gun is 
much disliked by the Seminole. There is only one among them, and 
that is a combination of shot gun with rifle. I made a careful count 
of their fire arms, and found that they own, of ‘‘ Kentucky” rifles, 63; 
breech loading rifles, 8; shot gun and rifle, 1; revolvers, 2—total, 74. 

Methods of hunting. —The Seminole always hunt their game on foot, 
They can approach a deer to within sixty yards by their method of rap. 
idly nearing him while he is feeding, and standing perfectly still when he 
raises his head. They say that they are able to discover by certain 
movements on the part of the deer when the head is about to be lifted. 
They stand side to the animal. They believe that they can thus deceive 
the deer, appearing to them as stumps or trees. They lure turkeys 
within shooting distance by an imitation of the calls of the bird. They 
leave small game, such as birds, to the children. One day, while some 
of our party were walking near Horse Creek with Ka-tea-la-ni, a covey 
of quail whirred out of the grass. By a quick jerk the Indian threw 





MACCAULEY.] INDUSTRIES. 513 


his ramrod among the birds and killed one. He appeared to regard 
this feat as neither accidental por remarkable. 

I sought to discover how many deer the Seminole annually kill, but 
could get no number which I ean call trustworthy. I venture twenty- 
five hundred as somewhere near a correct estimate. 

Otter hunting is another of the Seminole industries. This animal has 
been pursued with the rifle and with the bow and arrow. Lately the 
Indians have heard of the trap. When we left Horse Creek. a request 
was made by one of them to our guide to purchase for him six otter 
traps for use in the Cat Fish Lake camp. 


FISHING. 


Fishing is also a profitable industry. For this the hook and line are 
often used; some also use the spoon hook. Butitis a common practice 
among them to kill the fish with bow and arrow, and in this they are 
quite skillful. One morning some boys brought me a bass, weighing 
perhaps six pounds, which one of them had shot with an arrow. 


STOCK RAISING. 


Stock raising, in a small way, may be called a Seminole industry. 
I found that at least fifty cattle, and probably more, are owned by 
members of the tribe and that the Seminole probably possess a thousand 
swine and five hundred chickens. The latter are of an excellent breed. 
At Cat Fish Lake an unusual interest in horses seems now to be deyel- 
oping. I found there twenty horses. I was told that there are twelve 
horses at Fish Eating Creek, and I judge that between thirty-five and 
forty of these animals are now in possession of the tribe. 


KOONTI. 


The unique industry, in the more limited sense of the word, of the 
Seminole is the making of the Koonti flour. Koonti is a root contain- 
ing a large percentage of starch. It is said to yield a starch equal to 
that of the best Bermuda arrowroot. White men eall it the “ Indian 
bread root,” and lately its worth as an article of commerce has been 
recognized by the whites. There are now at least two factories in oper- 
ation in Southern Florida in which the Koonti is made into a flour for 
the white man’s market. I was at one such factory at Miami and saw 
another near Orlando. I ate of a Koonti pudding at Miami, and can 
say that, as it was there prepared and served with milk and guava 
jelly, it was delicious. As might be supposed, the Koonti industry, as 
carried on by the whites, produces a far finer flour than that which 
the Indians mannfacture. The Indian process, as I watched it at Horse 
Creek, was this: The roots were gathered, the earth was washed from 
them, and they were laid in heaps near the “ Koonti log.” 

The Koonti log, so called, was the trunk of a large pine tree, in which 
a number of holes, about nine inches square at the top, their sides 


5 EBTH—33 


514 SEMINOLE INDIANS OF FLORIDA. 


sloping downward to a point, had been cut side by side. Each of these 
holes was the property of some one of the squaws or of the children of 








Fic. 69. Koonti log. 


the camp. For each of the holes, which were to serve as mortars, a 
pestle made of some hard wood had been furnished. (Fig. 69.) 

The first step in the process was to reduce the washed Koonti to a 
kind of pulp. This was done by chopping it into small pieces and 

















Fic. 70. Koonti pestles. 


filling with it one of the mortars and pounding it with a pestle. The 
contents of the mortar were then laid upon a small platform. Each 
worker had a platform. When a sufficient quantity of the root had 
been pounded the whole mass was taken to the creek near by and thor- 
oughly saturated with water in a vessel made of bark. 








W. eT 
Soc SASS eas 


Fic. 71. Koonti mash vessel. 





MACCAULEY, | KOONTI INDUSTRY. 515 / 


The pulp was then washed in a straining cloth, the starch of the 
Koonti draining into a deer hide suspended below. 











































































































Fic. 72. Koonti strainer. 


When the starch had been thoroughly washed from the mass the lat- 
ter was thrown away, and the starchy sediment in the water in the deer 
skin left to ferment. After some days the sediment was taken from the 
water and spread upon palmetto leaves to dry. When dried, it was a 
yellowish white flour, ready for use. In the factory at Miami substan- 
tially this process is followed, the chief variation from it being that the: 


516 SEMINOLE INDIANS OF FLORIDA. 


Koonti is passed through several successive fermentations, thereby 
making it purer and whiter than the Indian product. Improved appli- 
ances for the manufacture are used by the white man. 

The Koonti bread, as I saw it among the Indians, was of a bright 
orange color, and rather insipid, though not unpleasant to the taste. It 
was saltless. Its yellow color was owing to the fact that the flour had 
had but one fermentation. ; 


INDUSTRIAL STATISTICS. 


The following is a summary of the results of the industries now en- 
gaged in by the Florida Indians. It shows what is approximately true 
of these at the present time: 


Acres:1inder cultivation: 26 <-cee ce cmteeee cee Seielece oats cle <inatece stata la letetetnreinia arate 100 
(Bfeont eM il see Coens pons coaBan ORO SDO can OSdSSDSE sade asosé sone bushels. - 500 
Sugar cane -- ...--- ------ eee cence e eee eee cee cece ee eee eee ee gallons... 1,500 
(OP an: Een ee eae ree soem cee ea. cos Cdamcecsteoon-ssecvaaes number owned.-. 50 
Swit). ~ = Siete =p siatetalaleie ees ele ee ee lee ain eialnte eel ania isle i siele let ae dot=s- 15,000) 
@hitkens ss <5 lisece case ct meeaee otis ceca snemeere ee cm cece eaten Oeeter 500 
TOLSES 25a eee oe b wee eee cee ee elec en ae acoso Oe ee eee eee era Oem 35 
MOON ese ere neaioee Wascne seecue sas ocon OSE cabo Hases6 S555s8 Se56 bushels... 5, 000 
Sweet TOMES arc oe cdaoco es so sees So psec 6a sass sees cose dena sctDcens aes 
NG Gy (ieee sen eae Saas aac beasees -moteneaoobonoaeSdeess Ssenae number... 3, 000 
ARTS. 


INDUSTRIAL ARTS, 


In reference to the way in which the Seminole Indians have met ne- 
cessities for invention and have expressed the artistic impulse, I found 
little to add to what I have already placed on record. 

Utensils and implements.—The proximity of this people to the Euro- 
peans for the last three centuries, while it has not led them to adopt the 
white man’s civilization in matters of government, religion, language, 
manners, and customs, has, nevertheless, induced them to appropriate 
for their own use some of the utensils, implements, weapons, &c., of 
the strangers. For example, it was easy for the ancestors of these 
Indians to see that the iron kettle of the white man was better in every 
way than their own earthenware pots. Gradually, therefore, the art of 
making pottery died out among them, and now, as I believe, there is no 
pottery whatever in use among the Florida Indians. They neither make 
nor purchase it. They no longer buy even small articles of earthen- 
ware, preferring tin instead, Iron implements lhkewise have supplanted 
those made of stone. Even their word for stone, “Tcat-to,” has been 
applied to iron. They purchase hoes, hunting knives, hatchets, axes, 
and, for special use in their homes, knives nearly two feet in length. 
With these long knives they dress timber, chop meat, ete. 

Weapons.—They continue the use of the bow and arrow, but no longer 
for the purposes of war, or, by the adults, for the purposes of hunting. 





MACCAULEY. | INDUSTRIAL ARTS. 517 


The rifle serves them much better. It seems to be customary for every 
male in the tribe over twelve years of age to provide himself with a 
rifle. The bow, as now made, is a single piece of mulberry or other 
elastic wood and is from four to six feet in length; the bowstring is 
made of twisted deer rawhide; the arrows are of cane and of hard 
wood and vary in length from two to four feet; they are, as a rule, 
tipped with a sharp conical roll of sheet iron. The skill of the young 
men in the use of the bow and arrow is remarkable. 

Weaving and basket making.—The Seminole are not now weavers. 
Their few wants for clothing and bedding are supplied by fabrics man- 
ufactured by white men. They are in a small way, however, basket 
makers. From the swamp cane, and sometimes from the covering of 


the stalk of the fan palmetto, they manufacture flat baskets and sieves ~ 


for domestic service. 

Uses of the palmetto.—In this connection I call attention to the ines- 
timable yalue of the palmetto tree to the Florida Indians. From the 
trunk of the tree the frames and platforms of their houses are made; of 
its leaves durable water tight roofs are made for the houses; with the 
leaves their lodges are covered and beds protecting the body from the 
dampness of the ground are made; the tough fiber which lies between 
the stems of the leaves and the bark furnishes them with material from 
which they make twine and rope of great strength and from which they 
could, were it necessary, weave cloth for clothing; the tender new 
growth at the top of the tree is a very 
nutritious and palatable article of food, 
to be eaten either raw or baked; its taste 
is somewhat like that of the chestnut; its 
texture is crisp like that of our celery 
stalk. 

Mortar and pestle. —The home made 
mortar and pestle has not yet been sup- 
planted by any utensil furnished by the 
trader. This is still the best mill they 
have in which to grind their corn. The 
mortar is made from a log of live oak (?) 
wood, ordinarily about two feet in length 
and from fifteen to twenty inches in diam- 
eter. One end of the log is hollowed out 
to quite a depth, and in this, by the ham- 
mering of a pestle made of mastic wood, 
the corn is reduced to hominy or to the 
impalpable flour of which I have spoken. 
(Fig. 73.) Fic. 73. Mortar and pestle. 

Canoe making.—Canoe making is still 
one of their industrial arts, the canoe being their chief means of trans- 
portation. The Indian settlements are a’l so situated that the inhabit- 





“ 


518 SEMINOLE INDIANS OF FLORIDA. 


ants of one can reach those of the others by water. The canoe is what 
is known as a ‘dugout,” made from the cypress log. 

Fire making.—The art of fire making by simple friction is now, I be- 
lieve, neglected among the Seminole, unless at the starting of the 
sacred fire for the Green Corn Dance. <A fire is now kindled either by 
the common Ma-tci (matches) of the civilized man or by steel and flint, 
powder ard paper. ‘Tom Tiger” showed me how he builds a fire when 
away from home. He held, crumpled between the thumb and fore- 
finger of the left hand, a bit of paper. In the folds of tke paper he 
poured from his powder horn a small quantity of gunpowder. Close 
beside the paper he held also a piece of flint. Striking this flint with 
a bit of steel and at the same time giving to the left hand a quick up- 
ward movement, he ignited the powder and paper. From this he soon 
made a fire among the pitch pine chippings he had preyiously prepared. 

Preparation of skins.—I did not learn just how the Indians dress deer 
skins, but I observed that they had in use and for sale the dricd skin, 
with the hair of the animal left on it; the bright yellow buckskin, very 
soft and strong; and also the dark red buckskin, which evidently had 
passed, in part of its preparation, through smoke. I was told that the 
brains ef the animal serve an important use in the skin dressing proc- 
ess. The accompanying sketch shows a simple frame in use for stretch- 
ing and drying the skin. (Fig. 74.) 





Fic. 74. Hide stretcher. 


ORNAMENTAL ARTS. 


In my search for evidence of the working of the art instinct proper, 
i. e., in ornamental or fine art, I found but little to add to what has been 





MACCAULEY.] RELIGION. ns) 


already said. I saw but few attempts at ornamentation beyond those 
made on the person and on clothing. Houses, canoes, utensils, imple- 
ments, weapons, were almost all without carving or painting. In fact, 
the only carving I noticed in the Indian country was on a pine tree 
near Myers. It was a rude outline of the head of a bull. The local 
report is that when the white men began to send their cattle south of 
the Caloosahatchie River the Indians marked this tree with this sign. 
The only painting I saw was the rude representation of a man, upon 
the shaft of one of the pestles used at the Koonti log at Horse Creek. 
It was made by one of the girls for her own amusement. 

I have already spoken of the art of making silver ornaments. 

Music.— Music, as far as 1 could discover, is but little in use among 
the Seminole. ‘Their festivals are few; so few that the songs of the 
fathers have mostly been forgotten. They have songs for the Green 
Corn Dance; they have lullabys; and there is a doleful song they sing 
in praise of drink, which is occasionally heard when the white man 
has sold Indians whisky on coming to town. Knowing the motive of 
the song, I thought the tune stupid and maudlin. Without pretending 
to reproduce it exactly, I remember it as something like this: 





My preciousdrink, !fondlylovethee. Standing|takethee And walkuntil morn. Yo-wan-ha-de. 


I give a free translation of the Indian words and an approximation 
to the tune. The last note in this, as in the lullaby I noted above, is 
unmusical and staccato. 

RELIGION, 


1 could learn but little of the religious faiths and practices existing 
among the Florida Indians. I was struck, however, in making my in- 
vestigations, by the evident influence Christian teaching has had upon 
‘the native faith. How far it has penetrated the inherited thought of 
the Indian I do not know. But, in talking with Ko-nip-ha-teo, he told 
me that his people believe that the Koonti root was a gift from God; 
that long ago the ‘Great Spirit” sent Jesus Christ to the earth with the 
precious plant, and that Jesus had descended upon the world at Cape 
Florida and there given the Koonti to “the red’ men.” In reference 
to this tradition, it is to be remembered that during the seventeenth 
century the Spaniards had vigorous missions among the Florida In- 
dians. Doubtless it was from these that certain Christian names and 
beliefs now traceable among the Seminole found way into the savage 
creed and ritual. 

Lattempted several times to obtain from my interpreter a statement 
of the religious beliefs he had received from his people. I cannot affirm 
with confidence that suecess followed my efforts. 


520 SEMINOLE INDIANS OF FLORIDA. 


He told me that his people believe in a “Great Spirit,” whose name 
is His-a-kit-a-misi. This word, I have good reason to believe, means 
“the master of breath.” The Seminole for breath is His-a-kit-a. 

I cannot be sure that Ko-nip-ha-teco knew anything of what I meant 
by the word “spirit.” I tried to convey my meaning to him, but I think 
I failed. He told me that the place to which Indians go after death-is 
called “ Po-ya-fi-tsa” and that the Indians who have died are the 
Pi-ya-fits-ul-ki, or ‘“‘the people of Po-ya-fi-tsa.”. That was our nearest 
understanding of the word “spirit” or “soul.” 


MORTUARY CUSTOMS, 


As the Seminole mortuary customs are closely connected with their 
religious beliefs, it will be in place to record here what I learned of 
them. The description refers, particularly to the death and burial of a 
child. 

The preparation for burial began as soon as death had taken place. 
The body was clad in a new shirt, a new handkerchief being tied about 
the neck and another around the head. A spot of red paint was placed 
on the right cheek and one of black upon the left. The body was laid 
face upwards. In the left hand, together with a bit of burnt wood, a 
small bow about twelve inches in length was placed, the hand lying 
naturally over the middle of the body. Across the bow, held by the right 
hand, was laid an arrow, slightly drawn. During these preparations, 
the women loudly lamented, with hair disheveled. At the same time 
some men had selected a place for the burial and made the grave in 


ae 
"lane 





aS a 
Fic. 75. Seminole bier. na 
this manner: Two palmetto logs of proper size were split. The four 
pieces were then firmly placed on edge, in the shape of an oblong box, 
lengthwise east and west. In this box a floor was laid, and over this a 
blanket was spread. Two men, at next sunrise, carried the body from 





MACCAULEY.] MORTUARY CUSTOMS. 521 


the camp to the place of burial, the body being suspended at feet 
thighs, back, an d neck from a long pole (Fig. 75). The relatives fol_ 
lowed. In the grave, which is called “To hop-ki”—a word used by 
the Seminole for “stockade,” or “fort,” also, the body was then laid 
the feet to the east. A blanket was then carefully wrapped around the 
body. Over this palmetto leaves were placed and the grave was tightly 
closed by a covering of logs. Above the box a roof was then built 
Sticks, in the form of an X, were driven into the earth across the over- 
lying logs; these were connected by a pole, and this structure was cov- 
ered thickly with palmetto leaves. (Fig. 76.) 








Fic. 76. Seminole grave. 


The bearers of the body then made a large fire at each end of the ‘“To- 
hdp ki.” With this the ceremony at the grave ended and all returned 
to the camp. During that day and for three days thereafter the rela- 
tives remained at home and refrained from work. The fires at the grave 
were renewed at sunset by those who had made them, and after night- 
fall torches were there waved in the air, that ‘‘the bad birds of the 
night” might not get at the Indian lying in his grave. The renewal of 
the fires and waving of the torches were repeated three days. The fourth 
day the fires were allowed to die out. Throughout the camp “medicine” 
had been sprinkled at sunset for three days. On the fourth day it was 
said that the Indian ‘“‘had gone.” From that time the mourning ceased 
aud the members of the family returned to their usual occupations. 

The interpretation of the ceremonies just mentioned, as given me, is 
this: The Indian was laid in his grave to remain there, it was believed, 
only until the fourth day. The fires at head and feet, as well as the 
waving of the torches, were to guard him from the approach of “evil 
birds” who would harm him. His feet were placed toward the east, 
that when he arose to go to the skies he might go straight to the sky 


522 SEMINOLE INDIANS OF FLORIDA. 


path, which commenced at the place of the sun’s rising; that were he 
laid with the feet in any other direction he would not know when he rose 
what path to take and he would be lost in the darkness. He had with 
him his bow and arrow, that he might procure food on his way. The 
piece of burnt wood in his hand was to protect him from the “bad 
birds” while he was on his skyward journey. These “evil birds” are 
called Ta-lak-i-clak-o. The last rite paid to the Seminole dead is at 
the end of four moons. At that time the relatives go to the To-hop ki 
and cut from around it the overgrowing grass. A widow lives with 
disheveled hair for the first twelve moons of her widowhood. 


GREEN CORN DANCE. 


The one institution at present in which the religious beliefs of the 
Seminole find special expression is what is called the “ Green Corn 
Dance.” It is the occasion for an annual purification and rejoicing. I 
could get no satisfactory description of the festival. No white man, so 
I was told, has seen it, and the only Indian I met who could in any man- 
ner speak English made but an imperfect attempt to describe it. In 
fact, he seemed unwilling to talk about it. He told me, however, that 
as the season for holding the festival approaches the medicine men 
assemble and, through their ceremonies, decide when it shall take 
place, and, if I caught his meaning, determine also how long the dance 
shall continue. Others, on the contrary, told me that the dance is 
always continued for four days. j 

Fifteen days previous to the festival heralds are sent from the lodge 
of the medicine men to give notice to all the camps of the day when the 
dance will commence. Small sticks are thereupon hung up in each 
camp, representing the number of days between that date and the day 
of the beginning of the dance. With the passing of each day one of 
these sticks is thrown away. The day the last one is cast aside the fam- 
ilies go to the appointed place. At the dancing ground they find the 
selected space arranged as in the accompanying diagram (Fig. 77). 

The evening of the first day the ecremony of taking the “ Black 
Drink,” Pa-sa-is-kit-a, is endured. This drink was described to me as 
having both a nauseating smell and taste. It is probably a mixture 
similar to that used by the Creek in the last century at a like cere- 
mony. It acts as both an emetic aud a cathartic, and it is believed 
among the Indians that unless one drinks of it he will be sick at some 
time in the year, and besides that he cannot safely eat of the green corn 
of the feast. During the drinking the dance begins and proceeds; in 
it the medicine men join. 

At that time the Medicine Song is sung. My Indian would not re- 
peat this song for me. He declared that any one who sings the Medi- 
cine Song, except at the Green Corn Dance or as a medicine man, 
will certainly meet with some harm. That night, after the ‘“ Black 
Drink” has had its effect, the Indians sleep. The next morning they 





MACCAULEY.] GREEN CORN DANCE. a2 


eat of the green corn. The day following is une of fasting, but the next 
day is one of great feasting, ‘ Hom-pi-ta-glak-o,” in which “Indian eat 
all time,” ‘“* Hom-pis-yak-i-ta.” 










4ttettett 
ttt etttet 


Squaws. 


"Q-PUN-KA-TO-LO-KA-TI” 
or the Dance Circle. 












“HIL-LIS-WA-MA=TOE-UL-KI” 
Men who watch the 
medicine fire. 


x 





: RY “ 
++ g wy ie 5 
3 <— sie ts 
++ 3S x ik) S 
et Zi Wedicrns +8 
so fire. +2 
oe The Fire or 4 s 


“O-PUN-KA-TOT- KIT-A", 
“TEOK-KO-CLACO”™ 
House where the 
warriors sit. 


Squaws. 


Htttetatt 
ttttte tet 





Fic. 77. Green Corn Dance. 
USE OF MEDICINES. 


Concerning the use by the Indians of medicine against sickness, I 
learned only that they are in the habit of taking various herbs for their 
ailments. What part incantation or sorcery plays in the healing of 
disease I do not know. Nor did I learn what the Indians think of the 
origin and effects of dreams. Me-le told me that he knows of a plant 
the leaves of which, eaten, will cure the bite of a rattlesnake, and that 
he knows also of a plant which is an antidote to the noxious effects 
of the poison ivy or so-called poison oak. 


GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. 


I close this chapter by putting upon record a few general observa- 
tions, as an aid to future investigation into Seminole life. 


STANDARD OF VALUE. 


The standard of value among the Florida Indians is now taken from 
the currency of the United States. The unit they seem to have adopted, 


524 SEMINOLE INDIANS OF FLORIDA. 


at least at the Big Cypress Swamp settlement, is twenty-five cents, 
which they call ‘‘ Kan-cat-ka-hum-kin” (literally, ‘‘one mark on the 
ground”), At Miami a trader keeps his accounts with the Indians in 
single marks or pencil strokes, For example, an Indian brings to him 
buck skins, for which the trader allows twelve “chalks.” The Indian, 
not wishing then to purchase anything, receives a piece of paper marked 
in this way: 


“TIITI-I1II-I111. 
J. W. E. owes Little Tiger $3.” 


At his next visit the Indian may buy five “marks” worth of goods 
The trader then takes the paper and returns it to Little Tiger changed 
as follows: 


“TIII-III. 
J. W. E. owes Little Tiger 
$1.75.” 


Thus the account is kept until all the “marks” are crossed off, when 
the trader takes the paper into his own possession. The value of the 
purchases made at Miami by the Indians, I was informed, is annually 
about $2,000. This is, however, an amount larger than would be the 
average for the rest of the tribe, for the Miami Indians do a considera- 
ble business in the barter and sale of ornamental plumage. 

What the primitive standard of value among the Seminole was is 
suggested to me by their word for money, “Teat-to Ko-na-wa.” ‘Ko- 
na-wa” means beads, and “Teat-to,” while it is the name for iron and 
metal, is also the name for stone. ‘Tcat-to” probably originally meant 
stone. Teat-to Ko-na-wa (i. e., stone beads) was, then, the primitive 
money. With ‘ Hat-ki,” or white, added, the word means silver; with 
‘‘La ni,” or yellow, added, it means gold. For greenbacks they use the 
words ‘Nak-ho-tsi Teat-to Ko-na-wa,” which is, literally, “‘paper stone 
beads.” 

Their methods of measuring are now, probably, those of the white 
man. I questioned my respondent closely, but could gain no light upon 
the terms he used as equivalents for our measurements. 


DIVISIONS OF TIME. 


I also gained but little knowledge of their divisions of time. They 
have the year, the name for which is the same as that used for sum- 
mer, and in their year are twelve months, designated, respectively : 


1, Gla-fiits-u-tsi, Little Winter. 7. Hai-yu-tsi. 

2. Ho-ta-li-ha-si, Wind Moon. 8. Hai-yu-tsi-glak-o. 

3. Ho-ta-li-ha-si-glak-o, Big Wind Moon. 9, O-ta-wis-ku-tsi. 

4. Ki-ha-su-tsi, Little Mulberry Moon. 10. O-ta-wits-ka-¢lak-o. 

5. Ki-ha-si-glak-o, Big Mulberry Moon. 11. I-ho-li. 

6, Ka-teo-ha-si. 12. Cla-fo-glak-o, Big Winter. 





MACCAULEY,] IDEAS OF TIME, NUMBER, AND COLOR. 525 


I suppose that the spelling of these words could be improved, but [ 
reproduce them phonetically as nearly as I can, not making what to me 
would be desirable corrections. The months appear to be divided 
simply into days, and these are, in part at least, numbered by reference 
to successive positions of the moon at sunset. When I asked Tal-la- 
hiis-ke how long he would stay at his present camp, he made reply by 
pointing to the new moon in the west and sweeping his hand from west 
to east to where the moon would be when he should go home. He 
meant to answer, about ten days thence. The day is divided by terms 
descriptive of the positions of the sun in the sky from dawn to sunset. 


NUMERATION, 


The Florida Indians can count, by their system, indefinitely. Their 
system of numeration is quinary, as will appear from the following list: 


1, Ham-kin. 7. Ko-lo-pa-kin. 

2, Ho-ko-lin, 8. Tci-na-pa-kin. 

3. To-tei-nin, 9. Os-ta-pa-kin. 

4. Os-tin. 10. Pa-lin. 

5, Tsaq-ke-pin. 11. Pa-lin-hiim-kin, 7 e.,ten one, &e. 
6. I-pa-kin. 20. Pa-li-ho-ko-lin, i. e., two tens. 


As a guide towards a knowledge of the primitive manner of counting 
the method used by an old man in his intercourse with me will serve. 
He wished to count eight. He first placed the thumb of the right hand 
upon the little finger of the left, then the right forefinger upon the 
next left hand finger, then the thumb on the next finger, and the fore- 
finger on the next, and then the thumb upon the thumb; leaving now 
the thumb of the right hand resting upon the thumb of the left, he 
counted the remaining numbers on the right hand, using for this pur- 
pose the fore and middle fingers of the left; finally he shut the fourth 
and little fingers of the right hand down upon its palm, and raising his 
hands, thumbs touching, the counted fingers outspread, he showed me 
eight as the number of horses of which IT had made inquiry. 


SENSE OF COLOR 


Concerning the sense of color among these Indians, I found that my 
informant at least possessed it to only a very limited degree. Black 
and white were clear to his sight, and for these he had appropriate 
names. Also for brown, which was to him a “yellow black,” and for 
gray, which was a“ white black.” For some other colors his perception 
was distinct and the names he used proper. Buta name for blue he 
appled to many other colors, shading from violet to green. A name 
for red followed a succession of colors ali the way from scarlet to pink. 
A name for yellow he applied to dark orange and thence to a list of 
colors through to yellow’s lightest and most delicate tint. I thought 
that at one time I had found him making a clear distinction between 
green and blue, but as I examined further I was never certain that he 
would not exchange the names when asked about one or the other color. 


526 SEMINOLE INDIANS OF FLORIDA. 
EDUCATION. 


The feeling of the tribe is antagonistic to even such primary education 
as reading, writing, and calculation. About ten years ago an attempt, 
the only attempt in modern times, to establish schools among them was 
made by Rev. Mr. Frost, now at Myers, Fla. He did not succeed. 


SLAVERY. 


By reference to the population table, it will be noticed that there are 
three negroes and seven persons of mixed breed among the Seminole. 
It has been said that these negroes were slaves and are still held as slaves 
by the Indians. I saw nothing and could not hear of anything to jus- 
tify this statement. One Indian is, I know, married to a negress, and 
the two negresses in the tribe live apparently on terms of perfect 
equality with the other women. Me-le goes and comes as he sees fit. 
No one attempts to control his movements. it may be that lopg ago 
the Florida Indians held negroes as slaves, but my impression is to the 
contrary. The Florida Indians, I think, rather offered a place of refuge 
for fugitive bondmen and gradually made them members of their tribe. 


HEALTH. 


In the introduction to this report I said that the health of the Semi- 
nole is good. As confirming this statement, I found that the deaths 
during the past year had been very few. I had trustworthy informa- 
tion concerning the deaths of only four persons. One of these deaths 
was of an old woman, O-pa-ka, at the Fish Eating Creek settlement; 
another was of Tiil-la-hiis-ke’s wife, at Cat Fish Lake settlement; 
another was of a sister of Téil-la-hiis-ke; and the last was of a child, at 
Cow Creek settlement. At the Big Cypress Swamp settlement I was 
assured that no deaths had occurred either there or at Miami during 
the year. On the contrary, however, I was told by some white people 
at Miami that several children had died at the Indian camp near there 
in the year past. Tiil-la-hiis-ke said to me, ‘‘Twenty moons ago, heap 
pickaninnies die!” And I was informed by others that about two 
years before there had been considerable fatality among children, as 
the consequence of a sort of epidemic at one of the northern camps. 
Admitting the correctness of these reports, I have no reason to mod- 
ify my general statement that the health of the Seminole is good and 
that they are certainly increasing their number. Their appearance 
indicates excellent health and their environment is in their favor. 





ORHVAS Te AER la Ve 
ENVIRONMENT OF THE SEMINOLE. 
NATURE. 


Southern Florida, the region to which most of the Seminole have 
been driven by the advances of civilization, is, taken all in all, unlike 
any other part of our country. In climate it is subtropical; in char- 
acter of soil it shows a contrast of comparative barrenness and abound- 
ing fertility; and in topography it is a plain, with hardly any percept- 
ible natural elevations or depressions. The following description, based 
upon the notes of my journey to the Big Cypress Swamp, indicates 
the character of the country generally. I left Myers, on the Caloosa- 
hatchie River, a small settlement composed principally of cattlemen, 
one morning in the month of February. Even in February the san 
was so hot that clothing was a burden. As we started upon our 
journey, which was to be for a distance of sixty miles or more, my at- 
tention was called to the fact that the harness of the horse attached to 
my buggy was without the breeching. I was told that this part of the 
harness would not be needed, so level should we find the country. 
Our way, soon after leaving the main street of Myers, entered pine 
woods. The soil across which we traveled at first was a dry, dazzling 
white sand, over which was scattered a growth of dwarf palmetto. The 
pine trees were not near enough together to shade us from the fierce 
sun. This sparseness of growth, and comparative absence of shade, is 
one marked characteristic of Florida’s pine woods. Through this thin 
forest we drove allthe day. The monotonous scenery was unchanged 
except that at a short distance from Myers it was broken by swamps 
and ponds. So far as the appearance of the country around us indi- 
cated, we could not tell whether we were two miles or twenty from our 
starting point. Nearly half our way during the first day lay through 
water, and yet we were in the midst of what is called the winter ‘“ dry 
season.” The water took the shape here of a swamp and there of a pond, 
but where the swamp or the pond began or ended it was scarcely possible 
to tell. one passed by almost imperceptible degrees from dry land to 
moist and from moist land into pool or marsh. Generally, however, the 
swamps were filled with a growth of cypress trees. These cypress 
groups were well defined in the pine woods by the closeness of their 
growth and the sharpness of the boundary of the clusters. Usually, too, 
the cypress swamps were surrounded by rims of water grasses, Six 
miles from Myers we crossed a cypress swamp, in which the water at its 


greatest depth was from one foot to two feet deep. A wagon road had 


528 SEMINOLE INDIANS OF FLORIDA, 


been cut through the dense growth of trees, and the trees were covered 
with hanging mosses and air plants 

The ponds differed from the swamps only in being treeless. They are 
open sheets of water surrounded by bands of greater or less width of 
tall grasses. The third day, between 30 and 40 miles from Myers, we 
left the pine tree lands and started across what are called in Southern 
Florida the “prairies.” These are wide stretches covered with grass and 
with serub palmetto and dotted at near intervals with what are called 
pine “islands” or “hammocks” and eypress swamps. The pine island 
or hammock is a slight elevation of the soil, rising a few inches above 
the dead level. The cypress swamp, on the contrary, seems to have its 
origin only in a slight depression in the plain. Where there is a ring 
of slight depression, inclosing a slight elevation, there 1s generally a 
combination of cypress and piue and oak growth. For perhaps 15 miles 
we traveled that third day over this expanse of grass; most of the way 
we were in water, among pine islands, skirting cypress Swamps and saw- 
grass marshes, and being jolted through thick clumps of serub palmetto. 
Before nightfall we reached the district occupied by the Indians, pass- 
ing there into what is called the “ Bad Country,” an immenss expanse 
of submerged land, with here and there islands rising from it, as.from 
the drier prairies. We had a weird ride that afternoon and night: 
Now we passed through saw-grass 5 or 6 feet high and were in water 6 to 
20 inches in depth; then we encircled some impenetrable jungle of vines 
and trees, and again we took our way out upon a vast expanse of water 
and grass. At but one place in a distance of several miles was it dry 
enough for one to step upon the ground without wetting the feet. We 
reached that place at nightfall, but found no wood there for making a fire. 
We were 4 miles then from any good camping ground. Captain Hen- 
dry asked our Indian companion whether he could take us through the 
darkness to a place called the “ Buck Pens.” Ko-nip-ha-tco said he 
could. Under his guidance we started in the twilight, the sky covered 
with clouds. The night which followed was starless, and soon we were 
splashing through a country which, to my eyes, was trackless. There 
were visible to me no landmarks. But our Indian, following a trail 
made by his own people, about nine o’clock brought us to the object 
of our search. A black mass suddenly appeared in the darkness, It 
was the pine island we were seeking, the “ Buck Pens.” 

On our journey that day we had crossed a stream, so called, the Ak- 
ho-lo-wa-koo-tei. So level is the country, however, and so sluggish the 
flow of water there that this river, where we crossed it, was more like 
a swamp than a stream. Indeed, in Southern Florida the streams, for 
a long distance from what would be called their sources, are more a 
succession of swamps than well defined currents confined to channels 
by banks. They have no real shores until they are well on their way 
towards the ocean. 

Beyond the point I reached, on the edge of the Big Cypress Swamp, 





MACCAULEY.} PHYSICAL SURROUNDINGS. 529 


lie the Everglades proper, a wide district with only deeper water and 
better defined islands than those which mark the ‘* Bad Country” and 
the “Devil’s Garden” I had entered. 

The description I have given refers to that part of the State of Florida 
lying south of the Caloosahaichee River. It is in this watery prairie 
and Everglade region that we find the immediate environment of most 
of the Seminole Indians. Of the surroundings of the Seminole north 
of the Caloosahatvhee there is but little to say in modification of what 
has already been said. Near the Fish Eating Creek settlement there 
is a Somewhat drier prairie land than that which I have just described. 
The range of barren sand hills which extends from the north along the 
middle of Florida to the headwaters of the Kissimmee River ends at 
Cat Fish Lake. Excepting these modifications, the topography of the 
whole Indian country of Florida is substantially the same as that which 
we traversed on the way from Myers into the Big Cypress Swamp and 
the Everglades. 

Over this wide and seeming level of land and water, as I have said, 
there is a subtropical climate. I visited the Seminole in midwinter; 
yet, for all that my northern senses could discover, we were in the 
midst ofsummer. The few deciduous trees there were having a midyear 
pause, but trees with dense foliage, flowers, fruit, and growing grass 
were to be seen everywhere. The temperature was that of a northern 
June. By night we made our beds on the ground without discomfort 
from cold, and by day we were under the heat of a summer sun. There 
was certainly nothing in the climate to make one feel the need of more 
clothing or shelter than would protect from excessive heat or rain. 

Then the abundance of food, both animal and vegetable, obtainable 
in that region seemed to me to do away with the necessity, on the part 
of the people living there, for a struggle for existence. As I have 
already stated, the soil is quite barren over a large part of the district; 
but, on the other hand, there is also in many places a fertility of soil 
that cannot be surpassed. Plantings are followed by superabundant 
harvests, and the hunter is richly rewarded. But I need not repeat 
what has already been said; it suffices to note that the natural envi- 
ronment of the Seminole is such that ordinary effort serves to supply 
them, physically, with more than they need. 


MAN. 


When we consider, in connection with these facts, what I have also 
before said, that these Indians are in no exceptional danger from wild 
animals or poisonous reptiles, that they need not specially guard against 
epidemic disease, and when we remember that they are native to what- 
ever influences might affect injuriously persons from other parts of the 
country, we can easily see how much more favorably situated for phys- 
ical prosperity they are than others of their kind. In fact, nature has 
made physical life so easy to them that their great danger lies in the 

5 ETH —- 34 


530 SEMINOLE INDIANS OF FLORIDA. 


possible want or decadence of the moral strength needed to maintain 
them in a vigorous use of their powers. This moral strength to some 
degree they have, but in large measure it had its origin in and has 
been preserved by their struggles with man rather than with nature. 
The wars of their ancestors, extending over nearly two centuries, did 
the most to make them the brave and proud people they are. It is 
through the effects of these chiefly that they have been kept from be- 
coming indolent and effeminate. They are now strong, fearless, haugh- 
ty, and independent. But the near future is to initiate a new epoch in 
their history, an era in which their career may be the reverse of what it 
has been. Man is becoming a factor of new importance in their environ- 
ment. The moving lines of the white population are closing in upon the 
land of the Seminole. There is no farther retreat to which they can go. 
It is their impulse to resist the intruders, but some of them are at last 
becoming wise enough to know that they cannot contend successfully 
with the white man. It is possible that even their few warriors may 
make an effort to stay the oncoming hosts, but ultimately they will 
either perish in the futile attempt or they will have to submit to a 
civilization which, until now, they have been able to repel and whose 
injurious accompaniments may degrade and destroy them. Hitherto 
the white man’s influence has been comparatively of no effect except 
in arousing in the Indian his more violent passions and in exciting him 
to open hostility. For more than three centuries the European has 
been face to face with the Florida Indian and the two have never really 
been friends. Through the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the 
peninsula was the scene of frequently renewed warfare. Spaniard, 
Frenchman, Englishman, and Spaniard, in turn, kept the country in an 
unsettled state, and when the American Union received the province 
from Spain, sixty years ago, it received with it, in the tribe of the 
Seminole, an embittered and determined race of hostile subjects. This 
people our Government has never been able to conciliate or to conquer. 
As different Indian policy, or a different administration of it, might 
have prevented the disastrous wars of the last half century; but, as all 
know, the Seminole haye always lived within our borders as aliens. It 
is only of late years, and through natural necessities, that any friendly 
intercourse of white man and Indian has been secured. The Indian 
has become too weak to contend successfully against his neighbor aud 
the white man has learned enough to refrain from arousing the vindic- 
tiveness of the savage. The few white men now on the border line in 
Florida are, with only some exceptions, cattle dealers or traders seek- 
ing barter with the red men. The cattlemen sometimes meet the In- 
dians on the prairies and are friendly with them for the sake of their 
stock, which often strays into the Seminole country. The other places 
of contact of the whites and Seminole are the settlements of Myers, 
Miami, Bartow, Fort Meade, and Tampa, all, however, centers of com- 
paratively small population. To these places, at infrequent intervals, 
the Indians go for purposes of trade. 


Se ee 


MACCAULEY,} SOCIAL RELATIONS WITH THE WHITES. HSE 


The Indians have appropriated for their service some of the products 
of European civilization, such as weapons, implements, domestic uten- 
sils, fabrics for clothing, &e. Mentally, excepting a few religious ideas 
which they received long ago from the teaching of Spanish missionaries 
and, in the southern settlements, excepting some few Spanish words, 
the Seminole have accepted and appropriated practically nothing from 
the white man. The two peoples remain, as they always have been, 
separate and independent. Up to the present, therefore, the human 
environment has had no effect upon the Indians aside from that whieh 
has just been noticed, except to arouse them to war and to produce 
among them wat’s consequences. 

But soon a great and rapid change must take place. The large immi- 
gration of a white population into Florida, and especially the attempts 
at present being made to drain Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades, 
make it certain, as I have said, that the Seminole is about to enter a 
future unlike any past he has known. But now that new factors are 
beginning to direct his career, now that he can no longer retreat, now 
that he can no longer successfully contend, now that he is to be forced 
into close, unavoidable contact with men he has known only as enemies, 
what will he become? If we anger him, he still can do much harm be- 
fore we can conquer him; but if we seek, by a proper policy, to do him 
justice, he yet may be made our friend and ally. Already, to the dis- 
like of the old men of the tribe, some young braves show a willingness 


. to break down the ancient barriers between them and our people, and 


[ believe it possible that with encouragement, at a time not far distant, 
all these Indians may become our friends, forgetting their tragic past 
in a peaceful and prosperous future. — 


vs 





' SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION——BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY 


he 
“ge 


THE RELIGIOUS LIFE OF THE ZUNT CHILD. 


BY 


MRS. TILLY E. STEVENSON. 














CONTENTS. 


> _ 


Brief account of Zuni mythology : 
Sy rth customs- -.-- Sea hge a Se Ae tn CHES E SBE AR ACE PEARED ees eSa0 
_ Involuntary initiation into the Kok-k6 ... 
____- Voluntary initiation into the Kok-ko .......... 





ILEVUSTRATION S. 


 Prare XX. Zuni masks and Ko-yé-mé-shi-..............-- 
; XXI. Group of Sii-lii-mo-bi-ya masks........-.. Sees: eee ae 
XXII. Zuni sand altar in Kiva of the North 
XXIII. Oh-hé-i-que, Kiva of the East...--..-....--- 3 











o> 









THE RELIGIOUS LIFE OF THE ZUNI CHILD. 


By Mrs. Titty E. STEVENSON. 


BRIEF ACCOUNT OF ZUNI MYTHOLOGY. 


The Pueblo of Zuni is situated in Western New Mexico on the Rio 
Zuni, a tributary of the Little Colorado River. The Zuni have re- 
sided in this region for several centuries. The peculiar geologic and 
geographic character of the country surrounding them, as well as its 
aridity, furnishes ample sources from which a barbarous people would 
derive legendary and mythologie history. A brief reference to these 
features is necessary to understand more fully the religious phases of 
Zuni child life. 

Three miles east of the Pueblo of Zuni is a conspicuously beautiful 
mesa, of red and white sandstone, t0-wa-yal lan-ne (corn mountain). 
Upon this mesa are the remains of the old village of Zuni. The 
Zuni lived during a long period on this mesa, and it was here that 
Coronado found them in the sixteenth century. Tradition tells that 
they were driven by a great flood from the site they now occupy, which 
is in the valley below the mesa, and that they resorted to the mesa for 
protection from the rising waters. The waters rose to the very sum- 
mit of the mesa, and to appease the aggressive element a human sacri- 
fice was necessary. A youth anda maiden, son and daughter of two 
priests, were thrown into this ocean. 'Two great pinnacles, which have 
been carved from the main mesa by weathering influences, are looked 

“upon by the Zuni as the actual youth and maiden converted iuto stone, 
and are appealed to as *father” and “mother.” Many of the Zuni 
legends and superstitions are associated with this mesa, while over its 
summit are spread the extensive ruins of the long ago deserted village. 
There are in many localities, around its precipitous sides and walls, 
shrines and groups of sacred objects which are constantly resorted to 
by different orders of the tribe. Some of the most interesting of these 
are the most inaccessible. When easy of approach they are in such 
secluded spots that a stranger might pass without dreaming of the 
treasures within his reach. On the western side of this mesa are sev- 
eral especially interesting shrines. About half way up the acclivity on 
the west side an overhanging rock forms the base of one of the pin- 
nacles referred to. This rock is literally honeycombed with holes, from 

539 


540 RELIGIOUS LIFE OF THE ZUNI CHILD. 


one-half to three-fourths of an inch in diameter. I visited the spot in 
the fall of 1854, with Professors E. B. Tylor and H. N. M oseley, of Ox- 
ford, England, and Mr. G, K, Gilbert, of the United States Geological 
Survey. These gentlemen could not determine whether the tiny ex- 
eavations were originally made by human hands or by some other 
agency. The Indian’s only answer when questioned was, ‘They be 
long to the old; they were made by the gods.” Hundreds of these 
holes contain bits of cotton and wool from garments. In the side of 
this rock there are larger spaces, in which miniature vases, filled with 
sand, are placed. The sand is ground by rubbing stones from the same 
rock. The vases of sand, and also the fragments of wool and cotton, 
are offerings at the feet of the “mother” rock. Here, too, can be seen a 
quantity of firewood heaped as shown in the right-hand corner of the 
illustration. Each man and woman deposited a piece, that he or she 
might always have plenty of wood for heat and light. Some three 
hundred feet above is another shrine, directly attached to the * father” 
rock, and to the white man difficult of access. Here I found many 
offerings of plume sticks (Té-lik-tki-na-we). 

Before entering upon the purely mythologic phases of Zuni child life 
I will present a brief sketch of some of the Zuni beliefs. There are 
thirteen secret orders in Zuni, in many of which women and children 
are couspicuous, besides the purely mythologie order of the Kok-ko, 
All boys are initiated into this order, while but few girls enterit. It 
is optional with a girl; she must never marry if she joins the Kok-ko, 
and she is not requested to enter this order until she has arrived at such 
age as to fully understand its grave responsibilities and requirements. 

Let us follow the Zuni tradition of the ancient time, when these peo- 
ple first came to this world. In journeying hither they passed through 
four worlds, all in the interior of this, the passageway from darkness 
into light being through a large reed. From the inner world they were 
led by the two little war gods Ah-ai-t-ta and Ma-a-sé-we, twin brothers, 
sons of the Sun, who were sent by the Sun to bring these people to his 
presence. They reached this world in early morning, and seeing the 
morning star they rejoiced and said to the war gods: ‘ We see your 
father, of whom you have told us.” ‘‘ No,” said the gods, “ this is the 
warrior who comes before our father;” and when the sun arose the peo- 
ple fell upon the earth and bowed their heads in fear. All their tradi- 
tions point to the distant land of their appearance in this world as being 
in the far northwest; from there they were acecompanied by Ah-ai-a-ta 
and Ma-a-se-we. These little gods occupy important positions in Zuni 
mythand legend. After long journeying, it was decided that the Priest 
Doctor (Ka wi-m6 sa) should send his son and his daughter in advance 
to discover some favorable spot upon which to build a village. The 
youth and the maiden finally ascended a peak from which to have an 
extended view of the country. ‘Rest here, my sister, for you are tired,” 
said the youth, “and I will go alone.” From fatigue, the girl soon sank 





STEVENSON. | TRADITIONAL ORIGIN OF THE ZUNI. 541 


into a slumber, and when the youth returned he was impressed with the 
surpassing loveliness of his sister. They remained for a time on this 
mountain, and at their union they were transformed—the youth into a 
hideous looking creature, the Ko-yé-mé-shi (Plate XX); the ma den into 
a being with snow white hair, the Ko-mo-két-si. The *Ko-thla-ma (her- 
maphrodite) is the offspring of this unnatural union. The youth said to 
his sister, ‘* We are no longer like our people; we will therefore make 
this mountain our home. But it is not well for us to be alone; wait here 
and I will go and prepare a place for our others.” Descending the 
mountain, he swept his foot through the sands in the plains below, and 
immediately a river flowed and a lake appeared, and in the depths of 
this lake a group of houses, and in the center of this group a religious 
assembly house, or kiva, provided with many windows, through which 
those not privileged to enter the kiva might view the dance within. 
After he performed this magic deed, he again joined his sister on the 
mountain, from which they could see their people approaching. The 
mountain has since that time borne the name of Ko-kok-shi— kok-shi 
meaning good. 

The first of the Ah-shi-wi, or Zui, to cross this river were the An-shi- 
i-que, or Bear gens; T0-wa-que, Curn gens; and tKo-oh-lok-ta-que, Sand 
Hill Crane gens. When in the middle of the river the children of these 
gentes were transformed into tortoises, frogs, snakes, ducks, and dragon- 
flies. The children thus transformed, while tightly clinging to their 
mother’s necks, began to bite and pinch. The mothers, trembling with 
fear, let them fall into theriver. Ah-ai-ti-ta and Ma-a sé-we, missing the 
children, inquired, “ Where are the little ones?” The mothers replied, 
“ We were afraid and dropped them into the water.” The war gods then 
cried out to the remainder of the people, “ Wait, wait until we speak 

_with you,” and they told the women to be brave and cling tightly to 
the children until they crossed the river. Obeying the gods’ commands, 
they carried the little ones over, though they were transformed just as 
the others. Upon reaching the opposite shore, they were again restored 
to their natural forms, excepting their hands, which were duck-webbed. 
These webs were cut with Ah-ai-t-ta’s stone knife and thus restored to 
perfect hands. 

The mothers whose children fell into the waters were grieved and 
refused to be comforted. The Priest Doctor was also grieved, and 
said, “Alas, where have the little ones gone?” Abh-ai-ti-ta and Ma-a- 
sé-we replied, “ We will go and learn something of them,” and upon 
descending into the lake they found the beautiful kiva, in which the 
children were assembled; but again they had been changed ; they were 
no longer reptiles, but were of a similar type to the Ko-yé-mé-shi and 
Ko-mo-két-si, and since that time they kave been worshiped as ances- 
tral gods, bearing the name of Kok-ko; but the little war gods knew 
them, and addressed them as “My children,” and they replied, “ Sit 
down and tell us of our mothers.” When they told them that their 


542 RELIGIOUS LIFE OF THE ZUNI CHILD. 


mothers refused to be comforted at their loss, they said, ‘Tell our moth- 
ers we are not dead, but live and sing in this beautiful place, which is 
the home for them when they sleep. They will wake here and be al- 
ways happy. And we are here to intercede with the Sun, our father, 
that he may give to our people rain, and the fruits of the oe and all 
that is good for them.” The Ah-shi-wi then journeyed on, led by Ah- 
ai-t-ta and Ma-a-sé-we, to the present site of Zuni. Many, however, 
lingered at a sprivg some fifteen miles west of Zuni, and there estab- 
lished the village Tkap-qué-na (Hot Spring). 

The Ko-yé-mé-shi and Ko-mo-két-si passed down through the interior 
of the mountain into the depths of the lake, the waters of everlasting hap- 
piness. In the passageway are four chambers, where the couple tar- 
ried on their way and where at the present time the two priests of the 
Kok-k6 rest in their journey to the sacred waters. So credulous are 
the people that the priests delude them into the belief that they acthally 
pass through the mountain to the lake. 

Having heard of the wonderful cave in this mountain, our little party 
visited the place, prepared to explore it. Mr. Stevenson and Mr. H. L. 
Turner entered the fissure in the rock and squeezed through the crevice 
for sixteen or eighteen feet to where the rock was so solid that they both 
determined no human creature could penetrate farther. They examined 
the place most carefully by means of an artificial light. Through a 
small aperture stones could be thrown to a depth from which no sound 
returned, but excepting this solitary opening all was solid, immovable 
rock. In this cave many plume sticks were gathered. Near the open- 
ing of the cave, or fissure, is a shrine to the Kok-ko, which must be very 
old, and over and around it are hundreds of the plume sticks and tur- 
quoise and shell beads. 

I would mention here a little incident illustrative of the superstitious 
dread these Indians entertain of violating the priestly commands. We 
found it very difficult to persuade an old Zuni guide, who had visited 
the sacred salt lake, the mountain of the war gods, and other places of 
interest with as (to these he had gone by special permission of the High 
Priest), to accompany us to the spirit lake and the mountain of the 
Kok-k6. Our persuasive powers were almost exhausted ere we could in- 
duce him to guide us to them, but having consented he was willing to go 
even if he should be punished by death. He was a man renowned for 
bravery, but he was so overcome by his superstitious fears that his 
voice sank to a whisper and finally became scarcely audible. The morn- 
ing of theday on which wereached this place, the old map, who had been 
riding by my side, ahead of the rest of the party, suddenly halted and 
said in a half-angry voice, “Why do I go ahead? Lam not the chief 
of this party. Those who belong at the head must go to the head.” 
And he would not move until Mr. Stevenson and I went in advance. 
By this change he sought to transfer the responsibility to us. Finally 
he rode up to us and said in a whisper, ‘‘ We will camp here.” The 





STEVENSON. | EXPLORATION OF THE SPIRIT LAKE. 543 


whole expression of the old inan’s face was that of ghastly terror. I 
was much annoyed, for I thought that,at the eleventh hour, his fear had 
overcome his desire to gratify us. Just-then a Mexican lad on horse- 
back approached; we were all mounted. I asked the lad, “Is there a 
lake near by?” He replied, ‘“ Yes, a half a mile off.” The old Indian 
said, speaking in a whisper, ‘“* And you have seen it?” “Yes.” “And 
you were not afraid?” “No; why afraid?” “ And you looked into the 
waters and you did not die?” With a look of bewilderment the youth 
rode off. I signaled to the old man to accompany us to thelake. ‘ No, 
no; I would only die, and you must not go or you will die.” “ No,” said 
I, “we will not die if our hearts are good, and if you will not go it is 
because your heart is not good and you are afraid.” 

We found the lake so surrounded by marshes that we could not get 
within an eighth of a mile of the waters. One of our party attempted 
to reach it on foot, but could get very little nearer. We made a cir- 
cuit of the lake along the slightly elevated ground and could distinctly 
see it. 

On completing the circle a striking picture met our eyes. Boldly 
outlined by the setting sun stood the oid man, his hair blown by the 
evening breeze, for he had bared his head of the usual kerchief worn 
around it, and, with his hand holding the sacred meal extended toward 
the glorious sunset, he stood repeating a prayer. We halted, and 
he continued his prayer, wholly unconscious of our presence; as he 
turned we surprised him. [extended my hand and said, ‘ Now I am 
happy, for you are again brave and strong.” ‘ Yes,” said he, “my heart 
is glad. I have looked into the waters of my departed people. Iam 
alive, but Imay die; if I die it is well; my heart is glad.” From that 
moment the gloom was gone and he was bright and haopy. We could 
not induce the old man to ascend the mountain of the Kok-ko with us, 
as none go there except certain priests; but the lake is visited by those 
who are designated by these priests. 

Several days were consumed by us in exploring this immediate vicin- 
ity. On breaking camp, our old Indian guide seemed determined to 
tarry behind. Iremained with him. As the party rode off he took a 
large quantity of food which he had carefully stored away behind a 
tree—he having observed an almost absolute fast in order to make a 
large offering to the spirits of the departed —and heaped this food upon 
the embers of the camp fire, by the side of which he stood for a long 
time, supplicating in a most solemn manner the spirits of the departed 
to receive his offering. 

Certain men are selected, who, with bodies nude save the loin skirt 
and with bare feet, walk from Zuni to the lake, a distance of 45 miles, 
exposed to the scorching rays of the summer sun, to deposit plume 
sticks and pray forrain. If the hearts of those sent be pure and good, 
the clouds will gather and rain will fall, but if evil be in their hearts 
no rain will fall during the journey and they return with parched lips 


544 RELIGIOUS LIFE OF THE ZUNI CHILD. 


and blistered skin. The Kok ko repeat the prayers for rain with their 
intercessions to the Yi-to-tka, the Sun, and by them the plume sticks are 
sent to the same great god. So constantly are the lesser gods employed 
in offering plumes to the great god that at night the sacred road (the 
Galaxy) can be seen filled with feathers, though by day they are in- | 
visible. They believe that the soul or essence of the plumes travels 
over this road, just as the soul from the body travels from Zuni to the 
spirit lake, and in their offerings of food the food itself is not received 
by the gods, but the spiritual essence of the food. 

One of the most important characters in Zuni mythology, the Kiik-l0, 
finding himself alone in the far Northwest, saw many roads, but could 
not tell which one led to his people, and he wept bitterly. The tear 
marks are still to be seen on the Kiik-lo’s face. A duck, hearing some 
one’s cries, appeared and inquired the cause of the trouble. ‘I wish 
to go to my people, but the roads are many, and I do not know the 
right one.” The sagacious duck replied, “ I know all roads, and I will 
lead you to your people.” Having led the Kiik-16 to the spirit lake, he 
said, “* Here is the home of the Kok-ko; I will guide you to the kiva 
and open for you the door.” After entering the kiva the Kiik-ld viewed 
all those assembled and said, ‘Let me see; are all my people here? No; 
the K0-10-00-wit-si (plumed serpent) is not here; he must come,” and two 
of the Kok-k0o (the Soot-ike) were dispatched for him. This curious 
creature is the mythical plumed serpent whose home is in a hot spring 
not distant from the village of Tkap-qué-na, and at all times his voice 
is to be heard in the depths of this boiling water. 

In the days of the old, a young maiden, strolling along, saw a beau- 
tiful little baby boy bathing in the waters of this spring; she was so 
pleased with his beauty that she took him home and told her mother 
that she had found a lovely little boy. ‘The mother’s heart told her it 
was not achild really, and so she said to the daughter; but the daughter 
insisted that she would keep the baby for her own. She wrapped it 
carefully in cotton cloth and went to sieep with it in her arms, In the 
morning, the mother, wondering at her daughter’s absence, sent a second 
daughter to call her. Upon entering the room where the girl had gone 
to sleep she was found with a great serpent coiled round and round her 
body. The parents were summoned, and they said, “This is some god, 
my daughter; you must take him back to his waters,” and the maiden 
followed the serpent to the hot spring, sprinkling him all the while with 
sacred meal. Upon reaching the spring the serpent entered it, the 
maiden following, and she became the wite of the K0-10-00-wit-si. 

The Ko ]0-00-wit-si soon appeared with the two Soot-ike who had been 
dispatched for him. They did not travel upon the earth, but by the 
underground waters that pass from the spring to the spirit lake. Upon 
the arrival of the K6 10-00-wit-si, the Kiak-l6 issued to this assemblage 
his commands, for he is the great father of the Kok-ko. Those who 
were to go to the North, West, South, East, to the Heavens, and to the 





STEVENSON. ] BIRTH CUSTOMS. 545 


Earth to procure cereals for the Ah-shi-wi he designated as the Sii- 
limo bi-ya. Previous to this time the Ah-shi-wi had subsisted on seeds 
of agrass. ‘When the seeds are gathered,” he said, addressing the 
serpent, “you will carry them with water to the Ah-shi-wi and tell 
them what to do with the seeds. I will go in advance and prepare 
them for your coming.” “ But,” said his people, ‘‘ you are our father; 
you must not walk,” and the ten Ko6-yé-mé shi accompanied him, carry- 
ing him on their backs, relieving each other when fatigued. The Kik- 
10 visited the Ah-shi-wi nine days in advance of the Sii-lii-md-bi-ya and 
K6-16-00-wit-si, instructing the people regarding the Kok-ko, how they 
must represent them in the future and hold their ceremonials, and tell- 
ing them that the boys must be made members of the KOk-k6, and that 
this particular ceremony must occur but once in four years. He aiso 
gave to the people the history of himself, how the duck had befriended 
him and led him to the home of his people. 


BIRTH CUSTOMS. 


Having now briefly sketched the mythology relating to the ceremonials 
to be described, I invite your attention to the main subject of the pres- 
ent paper: the Religious Life of the Zuni Child. 

First we will notice the birth customs. 

Zuni child life may be divided into two parts. One I will call the 
practical or domestic; the other, the mythologic or religious. The former 
is fairly exemplified in the habits, customs, games, and experiences of 
our own domestic child life. The other is essentially different; in it are 
involved the ceremonials, legends, and myths which surround the Zuni 
child from its birth. 

Previous to the birth of a child, if a daughter be desired, the husband 
and wife proceed together to the ‘‘ mother” rock, and at her feet make 
offerings and prayers, imploring her to intercede with the great father, 
the Sun, to give to them a daughter, and that this daughter may grow 
to be all thatis good in woman; that she may be endowed with the power 
of weaving beautifully and may be skilled in the potter’s art. Should 
a son be desired, the couple repair to the shrine above, and here, at the 
breast and heart of the “father” rock, prayers and plume sticks are 
offered that a son may be given them, and that he may have power to 
conquer his enemies, and that he may become distinguished in the Kok- 
ko and other orders, and have power over the field to produce abundant 
erops. In both cases the sacred meal is sprinkled, and, should the 
prayer not be answered, there is no doubt that the heart af one or the 
other was not earnest when the prayer was offered. 

The Zuni childis born amid ceremony. Atits birth only the maternal 
grandmother and two female doctors are present. After the bir h of 
the child, the paternal grandmother enters, bearing as offerings to the 
new born babe a large pottery bow] and inside of it a tiny blanket. She 
then prepares warm suds of yucca root in the bowl, in which she bathes 

5 ETH 30 





546 RELIGIOUS LIFE OF THE ZUNI CHILD. 


the infant, at the same time repeating a prayer of thanks for the life 
that has been given them and praying for the future of the child. She 
then rubs the entire body of the child, except the head, with warm 
ashes held in the palm of the hand and moistened with water. This 
process is repeated every morning during infancy and the same paste 
is put upon the face of the child until it is several years old. I would 
remark that this paste is seldom noticed upon the older children be- 
cause if is put on in the morning and drying soon is brushed off by 
the child. It is asserted by the Zuni that in four days after the birth 
of a child the first skin is removed by exfoliation and is supplanted by 
anew one. After applying the ashes, the paternal grandmother places ~ 
the infant in the arms of the maternal grandparent, who performs other 
offices for the little one and wraps it in a piece of cotton cloth. The 
paternal grandmother prepares a bed of warm sand by the right side 
of the mother (leaving a cool spot for the child’s head); she then receives 
the infant and lays it upon its bed, and over it she arranges the little 
blanket which she brought; she then places upon the sand and at the 
right side of the child an ear of white corn; if the child be a girl, the 
mother, or a three-plumule, corn is selected; if a boy, the father, or single 
ear, corn. The fourth day after the birth the child is again bathed in 
the yucca root suds by the same grandmother, who again repeats a long 
prayer. During the first ten days of the child’s life the paternal grand 

mother remains in the daughter in-law’s house, looking after the mother 
and helping in the preparation of the feast that is to occur. On the 
morning of the tenth day the child is taken from its bed of sand, to 
which it is never to return, and upon the left arm of the paternal 
grandmother it is carried for the first time into the presence of the 
rising sun. To the breast of the child the grandmother carrying it 
presses the ear of corn which lay by its side during the ten days; to 
her left the mother of the infant walks, carrying in her left hand the 
ear of corn which lay by her side. Both women sprinkle a line of 
sacred meal, emblematic of the straight road which the child must 
follow to win the favor of its gods. Thus the first object which the 
child is made to behold at the very dawn of its existence is the sun, 
the great object of their worship; and long ere the little lips can lisp 
a prayer it is repeated for it by the grandmother. 

The Zuni are polytheists; yet, while they have a plurality of gods, 
many of whom are the spirits of their ancestors, these gods are but 
mediums through which to reach their one great father of ail—the Sun. 

Returning to the house, the paternal grandmother again bathes the 
child in yueca suds; then, for the first time, the little one is put into 
the cradle. The baby’s arms are placed straight by its sides, and in 
this position it is so strapped in its cradle that it cannot even move a 
hand. These cradles have hood-shaped tops, and over the whole thick 
coverings are placed, so that the wonder is the child does not smother. 
The cradle is usually deposited in some safe corner, and the baby is left 


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THE HATCH LITH.CO. NEW YORK. 
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sTEVENEON.]| INVOLUNTARY INITIATION INTO THE KOK-KO. 547 


to sleep oramuse itself with its infantine thoughts. The cradle is some- 
times attached to two ropes to form a swing, and when the mother be- 
comes conscious of the child’s awakening she uncovers its head at 
times and the tiny thing casts its eyes around. On the tenth morning 
both parents of the child are bathed in suds of yucca, the whole body 
of the mother but only the head of the father. This office is also per- 
formed by the paternal grandmother. The immediate blood relations 
(female only) then assemble at the infant’s home; that is, all the house- 
hold of the father’s house and those of the mother’s house. Each woman 
from the father’s house brings to the baby a gift of a little blanket. 
This select gathering partakes of a feast, which is presided over by the 
maternal grandmother. At the close of the feast the infant is carried 
by the oldest sister of the father to the paternal grandmother’s house, 
where it is presented to the paternal grandfather, who prays to the Sun 
(Y4-t6 tka) to send down blessings upon the child. 


INVOLUNTARY INITIATION INTO THE KOK-KO. 


The present ceremonials are in direct obedience to the orders and in- 
structions given at the time of the appearance of the Kok-ko upon the 
earth, and their masks are counterparts of the original or spiritual 
Kok-ko (Plate XX). The Kak-lo rides, as of old, upon the backs of the 
Ko-yé-mé-shi, and he is the heralder for the coming of the K0-10-00-wit-si. 
Arriving at the village in the morning, he divides his time between the 
kivas, there being six of these religious houses in Zuni, one for each of 
the cardinal points, one for the zenith, and one for the nadir. In each 
of these kivas he issues to the people assembled the commands of the 
Kok-k6 and gives the history of the Kik-lo and the gathering of the 
cereals of the earth by the Sa-li-mo-bi-ya. At sunrise he is gone. The 
morning after the arrival of the Kik-l6, those who are to represent the 
Kok-k6 prepare plume sticks, and in the middle of the same day these 
are planted in the earth. The same night they repair to their respective 
kivas, where they spend the following eight nights, not looking upon 
the face of a woman during that period. Each night is spent in smok- 
ing and talking and rehearsing for the coming ceremony. The second 
day all go for wood, bringing it home on their backs, for so the ancienty 
did when beasts of burden were unknown to them. The third day is 
also spent in gathering wood, and the fourth day likewise. On the 
same day the ten men who are to personate the K0-yé-meé-shi, in com- 
pany with the ‘Si-tsi-tki (great-grandfather of the Ko-yé-mé-shi), pass 
through the village, inquiring for the boys who are to be initiated; be- 
fore such houses as have boys ready for this ceremonial these men: 
assemble; one of them enters the house and, greeting the mother of* 
the boy with ‘‘ Good morning,” inquires the name of her son. She re- 
plies: “ He has no name,” and requests the Ko-yé-mé-shi to give him 
one. The man then joins the group, repeating the words of the woman.. 
In passing from the kiva through the village the Indian screens his, 


548 RELIGIOUS LIFE OF THE ZUNI CHILD. 


face with a blanket, so as not to see the women as he passes. On the 
fifth day they go on a rabbit hunt, the capture of but one rabbit being 
necessary. The rabbit is carried to the He-i-i-que (or Kiva of the North) 
by the ‘Si-'si tki, who, after skinning the rabbit, fills the skin with cedar 
bark ; a pinch of meal is placed for the heart and the eye sockets are 
filled with mica; a hollow reed is passed through the inside filling to 
the mouth. The sixth day the inmates of the kivas again go for wood; 
the seventh day large Te-lik-tki-na-we are made of eagle plumes; the 
eighth day is consuined in decorating the masks to be worn. As these 
people have not the art of mixing their pigments so as to be permanent, 
masks and altars have to be freshly decorated before using; and, when 
the masks are completely decorated, they, with the other paraphernalia, 
are carried on the same day by the men and youths who have to wear 
them to some secluded nooks among the rocks, a distance from the 
town, where they put them on, returning to the village by early moon- 
light. 

The impressive ceremonial of initiating the youth into the order of 
the Kok-k0 occurs but once in four years. No male child above the age 
of four years may, after death, enter the Kiva of the Kok ko unless 
he has received the sacred breath of the Kok-k6. Those who personate 
the Kok-k6 are endowed for the time being with their actual breath. 
Besides the Si-li-mo-bi-ya of the North, West, South, East, Heavens, 
and Earth, and a number of younger brothers who appear on this occa- 
sion, there are Pa-oo-ti-wa (Plate XX), father of the Sun, ten Ko-ye-me- 
‘shi, and the K6-16-00-wit-si. 

The Sii-li-mo-bi-ya of the North wear yellow (hlap-si-na) masks; those 
from the West, blue (hli-iin-na); those from the South, red (shi-l0.a) ; 
those from the East, white (k0-han) ; those from the Heavens, all colors 
(1-t0 po-niin-ni); those from the Earth, black (quin-na). (Plate X XI.) 
These colors represent the cardinal points, the zenith, and the nadir: 


North. Yellow. Hlip-si-na. 
West. Blue. Hli-iin-na. 
South. ted. Shi-lo-a. 

East. White. Ko-han. 
Heavens. All colors. J-t0-po-niin-ni. 
Earth. Black. Quin-na. 


They come after sundown to the village. The serpent, made of hide, 
is about twelve feet long and eighteen inches through the thickest part 
of the body. The abdomen is painted white, the back black, covered 
with white stars, which are represented by a kind of semicircle, an en- 
tirely conventional design. The neck rests through a finely decorated 
kind of altar carried by the two Soot-ike. The tail end of the fetich is 
held by the priest of the K0-10-00-wit-si, who constantly blows through a 
large shell which he carries in the right hand, holding the serpent with 
the left. The Kok-k6 pass through the town and visit each kiva; they 
put the head of the serpent through the hatchway, that those who are 














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sTeveNsoN.]} INVOLUNTARY INITIATION INTO THE KOK-KO. 549 


privileged to assemble in the kivas may see the fetich. The Ko-10- 
oo-wit-si is then taken to the Kiva of the Earth, Hé-tka-pa-que. The 
walls of this kiva are decorated with two K6-10-00-wit-si, which extend 
almost around the entire walls of the room, the heads nearly meeting 
at the north end of the room. The fetich is placed between the heads. 
The others of the Kok-ko repair to their respective kivas, the Hé-i-i-que 
or Kiva of the North, the Moo-hé-i-que or Kiva of the West, the Choo- 
pa-ii-que or Kiva of the South, the Oh-hé-i-que or Kiva of the East, and 
the Qop-tsan-a-A-que or Kiva of the Heavens. From each of these 
kivas men and youths from the secret orders to which I have referred 
are assembled to receive the K6k-k6. When all the Kok-k6 have gone 
to their kivas, the ten Ko-yé-mé-shi, who reach the village after the 
others, go to their house, which is not one of the sacred assembly houses, 
but chosen from among the Sas-ki-i-que, or people of the Wolf gens. 

The Kok-ko sing and dance in their own kivas, then change about, 
those of the North passing to the West and those of the West going to 
the South, and so on. This is continuous until the first white streak 
warns them that day is approaching. At this time the head of the 
KO-]0-00-wit-si is put through the opening in the side wall of the kiva, 
when all who choose may look uponit. Behind this creature the old 
priest stands and blows through the body, making the same peculiar 
noise, representing the roaring of a sea monster, that he has kept up 
throughout the night. The image is only seen by the uncertain light 
of the faintest impression of day. Pa-oo-ti-wa remains with the Ko-lo- 
oo-wit-si in the Kiva of the Earth. At sunrise the Si& l&é-mo bi-ya go. 
to this kiva, each bearing the plume stick made on the sixth day and 
an ear of corn. The Sii-li-mo-bi-ya of the North first advances to the 
priest of the K6-lo-o0-wit-si and, presenting him with the plumes and! 
ear of yellow corn, prays that the Ko-10-00-wit-si will give to his people: 
the seeds of the earth; the Sa-lii-mo-bi-ya of the West next approaches, 
presenting his wand and an ear of blue corn, praying that the Ko-l6- 
oo-wit-si will bring to his people the seeds of the earth; and so the red 
corn of the South, the white of the Hast, the all-color of the Heavens 
and the black of the Earth are presented with the same prayer. The 
Sii-lii-mo-bi-ya remove their masks after entering the kiva, when they 
immediately lose their identity as the Kok-ko. They are merely men 
now, praying to the Kok-ko. This ceremony over, they return to their 
respective kivas, having put on their masks before leaving the Kiva cf 
the Earth, 

At this time the *Si-tsi-tki partially ascends the ladder of the Kiva 
of the North, remaining just inside of the hatchway, and, holding the 
rabbit to his mouth, calls through the reed: “ Your little grandfather 
is hungry; he wishes something to eat; bring him some stewed meat.’ 
The Ko6-ye-mé-shi, in obedience to the request of the little grandfather, 
go to the homes of the children to be initiated, calling for food. At the 
same time the K6-yé-mé-shi give to each novitiate his name. Previous 


at) KELIGIOUS LIFE OF THE ZUNI CHILD. 


to this the boy is designated as baby boy, younger boy, older boy, &ce. 
The food is received by the Ko-yé-me-shi and taken to the Kiva of the 
North, where it is divided and carried to the different kivas. For this 
occasion the native beans are prepared. There is as great a variety of 
color in these as in the corn. The yellow beans are carried to the Kiva 
of the North, the blue beans to the Kiva of the West, the red to the 
Kiva of the South, the white to the Kiva of the Bast, the all color to 
the Kiva of the Heavens, the black to the Kiva of the Earth. A sumpt- 
uous meal is now served in each of the kivas. 

After this meal the Kok-ko begin their bodily decorations, with their 
bodies almost nude. Those of the North are painted yellow; those of 
the West, blue; those of the South, red; those of the East, white; 
those of the Heavens, all colors on the body and yellow on the neck 
and upper arms; those of the Earth, black, with some bits of color. 
This done, the Sa-li-mod-bi-ya of the North passes through the village 
and, going for a short distance to the north, deposits a plume stick, the 
stick to which the plumes are attached being painted yellow. The 
S4-la-mo-bi-ya of the West, South, and East plant their plumes at their 
respective cardinal points. Those for the zenith and nadir are planted 
to the west, on the road to the spirit lake, the stick of each one having 
the cardinal color decorations. This done, all retire to their kivas. 

The Sa-la mo-bi-ya of the North, returning to his kiva, drinks the 
medicine water prepared by the priest of the great fire order (Ma-'ké-hlan- 
@ a-que), who, with some of his people, is now busy in the preparation 
of a sand altar, The Si-li-mo-bi-ya again emerge from the kivas, 
with long bunches of Spanish bayonet in their hands, in the ends of 
which grains of corn of the respective colors are placed and wrapped 
with shreds of the bayonet. Any man or youth desiring to raise yel- 
low corn appeals to the Sa-laé-mo-bi-ya of the North, who strikes him a 
severe blow with his bunch of bayonets. Similar appeals are made to 
those representing other colors. - The sand altar is made in the Kiva of 
the North. It is first laid in the ordinary yellowish sand, in the center 
of which the bowl of medicine water is placed. Over the yellow sand 
a ground of white sand is sprinkled. All the Sa-la-mo-bi-ya and their 
brothers are represented on the altar (Plate XXII). The altar is circular 
in form and some twelve feet in diameter. The K0-l0-00-wit-si encircles 
the whole, 

Thronghout the day the Kok-k6 are running around the village whip- 
ping such of the people as appeal to them for a rich harvest, while the 
curious performances of the Ko-yé-mé-shi carry one back to the primitive 
drama, 

Toward evening the ceremony for initiating the children begins. The 
priest of the Sun, entering the sacred plaza (or square), sprinkles a broad 
line of sacred meal from the southeast entrance across the south side, 
thence along the western side to the Kivaof the North, and up the ladder- 
way to the entrance (which is always in the roof), and then passing over 
the housetops he goes to the Kiva of the Earth and sprinkles the meal 


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STEVENSON] INVOLUNTARY INITIATION INTO THE KOK-KO. ayy) | 


upon the K0-l0-o0-wit-si. He then precedes the Kok-k6 to the plaza 
and deposits a small quantity of yellow meal on the white line of meal 
near the eastern entrance. By this spot the Sii-li-mo bi-ya of the North 
Stands, south of the line of meal. The priest, continuing in advance, 
deposits a quantity of blue meal ‘on the line a short distance from the 
yellow, which indicates the position for the Sii-li-m0-bi-ya of the West, 
In like manner he indicates the position of the respective Sii-lii-mo-bi-ya 
with red meal for the South, white for the East, meal of all colors for the 
Heavens, and black meal for the Earth. The remainder of the Koik-ko 
take their positions successively along the line of meal. The Ko yé-mé-shi 
group in the plaza. The godfathers then pass along the line of meal, each 
one holding his godchild on his back by a blanket, which he draws 
tightly around him. In olden times tanned robes of the buffalo were 
used for this purpose. As he passes the line of Kok-k6 each one strikes 
the child with his large bunch of Spanish bayonets. While the Indian 
from almost infancy looks upon any exhibition of feeling when under- 
going physical suffering as most cowardly and unmanly, the severity of 
the pain inflicted by the yucca switches in this ceremony is at times 
such as to force tears from the eyes of the little ones, but a boy over the 
age of five or six rarely flinches under this ordeal. After passing the 
line the godparent enters the Kiva of the North, where he is met by a 
priest of the great fire order, who asks, ‘‘ Who is your Kok-ko?” When 
the godfather replies, he is directed to select his boy’s plume. The 
plumes which ornament the heads of the figures have been previously 
wrapped in corn husks and carried to the priest by the respective god- 
fathers. The godfather attaches the feather, which is a soft, downy 
feather of the eagle, to the scalp-lock of the child. The godparent is 
then given a drink of the holy water, which is dipped from the bowl by 
the medicine man with a shell attached to a long reed. The child also 
drinks and repeats a prayer after his sponsor. They then leave the kiva, 
and, taking a position on the north side of the plaza, the child kneels 
and clasps the bent knee of his godfather, who draws him still closer 
with the blanket around him. Four new characters of the Kok-k6 now 
appear, the Sai-a-hli-a (see Plate XX). Hach one of these strikes the 
child four times across the back with his yucea blades, having first 
tested with his foot the thickness of the child’s clothing. The child 
must not have anything over his back but the one blanket, which is a 
gift from the godfather. This ceremonial over, each child accompanies 
his godparent to his home, where a choice meal is served. 

The night ceremonial is conducted in two kivas, that of the South 
and that of the East. The Kok-ko for this ceremony divide and enter 
the two kivas. 

The godparents sit upon the stone ledge which passes around tle 
room, whose walls are rectangular, and, spreading his kuees, the boy sits 
on the ledge between them. To the right of the guardian his wife sits, 
and to his left his sister. In case the wife is not present, the older sister 


552 RELIGIOUS LIFE OF THE ZUNI CHILD. 


sits on the right and a younger sister on the left. The father of the Sun 
(Pa-oo-ti-wa) enters and sits upon the throne which has been arranged 
for him at the west end of the room; this has a sacred blanket attached 
to the wall and one to sit upon, the whole profusely ornamented with 
white scarfs, woven belts, and many necklaces of turquoise and other 
precious beads. To his right and left sit the two young priests who 
prepared the throne; to the left of the priest, on the left of Pa-oo-ti-wa, 
sit the high priest and priestess of the Earth. The remainder of the 
ledge is filled with the boys and their friends. Nai-a-chi, the living rep- 
resentative of Ah-ai-t-ta, the war god, sits to the left of the fire altar 
as you enter and feeds the sacred flames. The Sé&-léi-mo-bi-ya enter 
immediately after Paoo-ti-wa. All these, including Pa-oo-ti-wa, enter 
head foremost; the head touches the stone slab over the fire, and, com- 
pleting a somersault, they vault into the room on all fours and in like 
manner pass to the right of the kiva and around to their places. Pa- 
0o-ti-wa is followed by the Si-la-mo-bi-ya of the North and others in 
proper order and rapid succession, the hind one always hopping into the 
foot and hand prints of the former. In the two kivas mounds of sand 
have been laid for the Kok ko and each one sits upon his mound. These 
mounds are some eighteen inches in diameter and a foot in height (Plate 
XXITL). When all have taken their places the Si-li-mo-bi-ya of the North 
arises and taking the wand from his mound walks to the group immedi- 
ately to the right of the ladder as one enters. Holding the wand between 
his hands, he goes to each child and blows four times upon the wand, 
at the same time extending it toward the mouth of the child, who draws 
from it each time the sacred breath which passes from the mouth of 
the Kok-ko over the plumes. The tSi-tsi-‘ki carries the rabbit in addi- 
tion to the wand, and over them he passes the sacred breath of the 
little grandfather. The godparent covers the eyes of the child with 
his hand, for the children must not look upon the Kok-k6 near by. The 
Sa-lai-m0-bi-ya of the North is followed by the Sii-la-m0-bi-ya of the West 
and others, all in turn going to each child; as each one completes the 
round he places his wand in his belt, stands in the center of the kiva, 
and turns a somersault over the fire, striking his head on the fire slab 
as before, and so leaves the kiva feet foremost. 

The K06-l6-o0-wit-si now appears at the hatchways. He is brought 
by the priest of the K0-16-00-wit-si and the Soot-ike. The high priest, 
the priest of the bow, and priestess of the earth advance to the hatch- 
way, each holding a large earthen bowl, and catch the water poured 
from the mouth of the K6-l6-o0-wit-si. Each guardian then fills the 
small bowl which he carries with the holy water and, drinking a portion 
of it, gives the remainder to the boy to drink. The bowl which con- 
tains it isa giftfrom the godfather. The boy sprinkles the corn stacked 
in his house with this water. After the water is exhausted from the 
large bowls a blanket is held by four men to catch the seeds of all the 
cereals which are sent up from the abdomen of the K6-16-00-wit si. 





THE HATCH LITH. CO. NEW YORK 









STEVENSON] © VOLUNTARY INITIATION INTO THE KOK-KO. = 553 


These are taken from the blankets by three priests and placed in their 
own blankets, which rest over the left arm, and they, passing around, 
distribute the seeds to all*present. The sand of the fallen mounds is 
gathered in a blanket and deposited in the river, to be carried to the 
home of the Kok-k6. The boys now return to their bomes, accompanied 
by the guardian and one other of their attendants. In the early morn- 
ing the sister of the godfather goes for the boy and brings him to her 
house, where he enjoys a sumptuous breakfast. The godfather then 
leads the boy to the east for some distance from the village, sprinkling 
a line of sacred meal, and here he says a prayer, which the boy repeats 
after him, and the godfather, making a hole in the ground, plants a 
plume stick which he has made for the child. 

From this time the child eats no animal food for four days. The 
plume which has been placed on the child’s head in the kiva during the 
initiation is not removed till the fourth morning after the planting of 
the feathers, when he again goes over the road with his guardian, who 
deposits the plume from the child’s head with a prayer, which is re- 
peated by the child. 

Thus ends this remarkable initiation of the Zuni male child into the 
order of the Kok-ko. This is really mainly done by sponsors, and he 
must personally take the vows as soon as he is old enough. 


VOLUNTARY INITIATION INTO THE KOK-KO. 


After the first initiation of a boy into this order, he is left to decide 
for himself when he will assume the vows made for him by his sponsors, 
though the father and the godfather do not fail to impress upon the 
boy the importance of the second initiation, which occurs at an annual 
ceremonial; and when the boy has declared his determination to enter 
the order, if the K6k-k6 upon seeing him deem him too young, he is 
ordered to return to his home and wait awhile till his heart has become 
more wise. For this ceremonial the godparents and the boys assemble 
in the Kiva of the North. Each boy in turn takes his position to receive 
his whipping, which is necessary for initiation, The godfather, standing, 
bends his right knee, which the boy clasps, bowing his head low. The 
godfather holds the two ends of the blanket and buckskin tightly 
around the boy, while each of the four Sai-a-hli-4 in turn give him four 
strokes across the back with a bunch of the yucca blades. Two of the 
Ko-yé-mé-shi stand by and count the strokes; the others are in the plaza 
outside, indulging in their primitive games, which excite much merri- 
ment among the large assemblage of people. After each boy has re- 
ceived the chastisement and all are again seated, the four Sai-a-hli-a 
pass in turn to each boy. Each one taking off his mask, places it over 
the head of the boy, handing him his Spanish bayonets. The boy strikes 
the Kok-k6 once across each arm and once across each ankle. The 
Kok-ko does not speak, but the boy is instructed by his guardian, who 
talks to him in a whisper, telling him not to be afraid, but to strike 


554 RELIGIOUS LIFE OF THE ZUNI CHILD. 


hard. The eyes of the boys open wide as the Kok ko rajse their masks 
and for the first time familiar faces are recognized. The KOk-k6 leave 
the kiva after revealing their identity to the children, and running 
around the village use their switches indiscriminately, with a few ex- 
ceptional cases. I saw a woman whipped, she taking the babe from 
her back and holding it in her arms. This woman requested the whip- 
ping that she might be rid of the bad dreams that nightly troubled her. 
After the Sai a-hli-a leave the kiva the children are called by the priest 
of the Kok-ko and told to sit in front of him and the other priests, 
including the High Priest of Zuni. This august body sits in the kiva 
throughout the ceremony. The Priest of the Kok-k6 then delivers a 
lecture to the boys, instructing them in some of the secrets of the order, 
when they are told if they betray the secrets confided to them they 
will be punished by death; their heads will be cut off with a stone 
knife; for so the Kok-ko has ordered. They are told how the Kok-ko 
appeared upon the earth and instructed the people to represent them. 
The priest closes by telling the children that in the old some boys be- 
trayed the secret and told that these were not the real gods, but men 
personating the Kok-k6o, and when this reached the gods the Sai-a-hli-a 
appeared upon the earth and inquired for the boys. The people then 
lived upon the mesa t0-wa-yiil-lin-ne. The mothers declared they knew 
not where they had fled. The Kok-ko stamped his feet upon the rocky 
ground and the rocks parted, and away down in the depths of the 
mountain he found the naughty boys. He ordered them to come to him 
and he cut off their heads with his stone knife. This story is sufficient 
to impress the children that there is no escape for them if they betray 
the confidence reposed in them, for the Kok-ko can compel the rocks 
to part and reveal the secrets. 

A repast is now served to the priests and the boys and others in the 
kiva. The food is brought by the wives and sisters of the four Sai-a 
hli-a to the hatchway and carried in by the Kok-k6, who have returned 
to the kiva. The feast opens with a grace said by the priest of the 
Kok-ko, who immediately after collects upon a piece of Hé-wi (a certain 
kind of bread) bits of all the food served. This he rolls up and places 
by his side, and at the conclusion of the feast he carries it to a distance 
from the village over the road to the spirit lake and making a hole in 
the ground he deposits it as an offering to the gods. Each child goes 
to the godfather’s house, where his head and hands are bathed in 
yucca suds by the mother and sisters of the godfather, they repeating 
prayers that the youth may be true to his vows, &c. The boy then 
returning to his own home is tested by his father, who says, ‘‘ You are 
no longer ignorant; you are no longer a little child, but a young man. 
Were you pleased with the words of the Kok-ko? What did the priest 
tell you?” The boy does not forget himself and reveal anything that 
was said, for the terror overhanging him is too great. 

When a youth is selected to personate the KOk-k6 he is instructed 


STEVENSON.| VOLUNTARY INITIATION INTO THE KOK-KO. 555 


in regard to the decorating of the mask he is to wear. When this is 
done he goes at night to the proper kiva and seated between two in- 
structors he learns the song and prayers. In committing songs and 
prayers to memory the novice holds a tiny crystal between his thumb 
and forefinger for a while, then he puts it into his mouth, and at the 
conclusion of the instruction he swallows it. This insures the remem- 
brance of the prayers and songs, and he awakes the following morning 
with them indelibly impressed upon his mind. The pupil is then struck 
across each arm and across each ankle with the yucea blades. 

There are very few women belonging to the order of the Kok-k6. I think 
there are now only five in Zuni. When a woman of the order becomes 
advanced in age she endeavors to find some maiden who will take upon 
herself the vows at her death. Selecting some young woman, she appeals 
to her to be received into the order of the KOk-k6. The maiden replies, 
“T know nothing concerning the mysteries of the order. You must 
talk to my father.” After the father is spoken to, hein turn spends the 
night in explaining the duties of the position to his daughter and that 
the gods would be displeased if she should marry after joining the 
Kok-k6. Assuming the Kok-k6 vows is entirely optional with the girl. 
It is never her duty, but a special privilege which is rarely accepted. 
If she accepts she passes through both ceremonials described. She 
chooses her godfather, who gives her for the first ceremony a woman’s 
blanket and for the second a woman’s dress, a white blanket, a quantity 
of blue yarn, a woman’s belt, a buckskin, a sacred blanket, and the mask 
she is to wear. But even here in Zuni, where the people are so con- 
trolled by the priests and have such a superstitious dread of disobey- 
ing the commands of the Kok-k6, women have been guilty of desecrat- 
ing their sacred office and marrying. At present there is a woman of 
the order of the KOk-k6 married to a Navajo. She is of course forever 
afterwards debarred from joining in the ceremonials, but she is permit- 
ted to live among her people with no other punishment than their indig- 
nation. 





ENB EX. 


A. Page. 


Abnaki Indian shell beads ....... 
Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico, pottery from. xxv, 


Adair, Andrew, murder of......- 
Adair, James, on Cherokee boundaries ..-. 
Adair, John Lynch, commissioner for Cher- 











Page. 

Bartow County, Georgia, mounds......... 96-104 
Bartram, William, description of Cherokee 

Council house --..-........:--------- 87 

remarks on the Cherokee -.-....... = SSN 872 

list of Cherokee towns .--.....---..--- 143 

Batt, Capt. Henry, exploring party under. . 138 


Berkeley, William, exploring expedition 
DY tise anne ee ea ceten scone eas 
Beverly on shell ornaments .......--.---.- 92 


| Big Cypress Swamp Seminole sett)ement.477, 478, 





okee boundary ...................--. 365 
Adair, Washington, murder of...........-- 319 
Adams, Captain, aid acknowledged....... 130 
Adams, John Quincy, on relations of 

Georgia and Cherokee. ...--...-..--- 239 
Akanilini, the supernatural couriers. .411-414, 415, 

417, 424, 426, 466 
Alabama, explorations in ..-.....----..--. xxii 
alleges error in survey of Cherokee 

DOD NO eye satem ee clea cles sa 211 
Alexander, J. B., mounds on farm of. 74 
Allamakee County, Iowa, mounds.-........ 26 
Allegan or Allegwi identical with Chero- 

kee 137 
Altar mounds 57, 58 
American Emigrant Company negotiates 

for neviral Innds- <2. 4-2 --5--<2--2- 349 
Anderson, W. G., opened Wisconsin 

Pav etes (2) Gopmee Sone Se oe saa coeeiae 16 
Anderson Township, Ohio, mounds....... 49 
Andrews, E. B., on Ohio mounds.-......-. 47,48 
Appulachian mound district and mounds. .10, 61-86 
Arizona, explorations in.--.........-.. xxiii, xxiv 
Arkansas, explorations in........---...--- 20. o.a1}| 
PANEKSTSASIINOUNGS) ccc. ~aclewe see reas nen cn 11 
Armstrong, F. W., commissioner to extin- 

guish Cherokee title ......-..-....-. 241 
Armstrong, R. H., aid acknowledged.-..... 130 
Armstrong, Thomas, on Wisconsin mounds 16 
Arustrong, William, commissioner to treat 

WHEN ONEYOREB sta ccetiecna-vosconis 298, 305 

plan of, for adjusting Cherokee differ- 

CO Se ee eens 304 
Ashland County, Ohio, mounds...........- 47 
Ashley, James M., commissioner for Cher- 

GREG DONNMATY)<oe-- nonce seinen seo 365 
Athens County, Ohio, mounds............. 47 

. 

B. 
Baldwin, J. D., on mound builders ........ 83 
Barbour, James, authorized to treat with | 

Wherokiegiessssss=2e-eeeeeeeen acer 229 
Barnett, William, Cherokee boundary 

commissioner ......... eorecesscecoac 207, 208 


499, 507, 529 


Billy, brother of Key West Billy ..492-494, 499, 528 












Black Hawk's grave .......---.ses-sscees 933,34 
Blair, James, Georgia commissioner in 
treating with Cherokee ............- 236 
Blount, William, protest against Hopewell 
UGE es Sa ao ed Ree Dessoce 153 
treats with Cherokee ......-. 158 
instructed to treat with Cherokee..... 162 
Boudinot, E. C., address on condition of 
Cherokees tsrac=p eens acese cence 285 
piityatls) a2) he See eo amo 293 
compensation to heirs of -............. 299 
on Cherokee treaty of April 27, 1868... 344 
Boulware, J. N., mounds on farm of. ...... 44 
Branson, Judge, opening of Wisconsin 
SNOUMUS SD yee =a nee tee ae eens 18 
Brebeuf, Jean, on burial ceremonies of the 
Hurons 71, 110-119 
Bridges, J. S., commissioner to appraise 
Cherokee property. - a on 258 
Brinton, D.G., aid of----..-. XXXV 
“on a burial mound............ 5 39 
on Indians as mound builders 84 
Brodie, Paul, aid acknowledged . 130 
Brown, David, report on Ghemuee watt 
CONSULS Die te == 2c. ce See eces ame os 240 
Brown, Jacob, purchase from Cherokee. ... 147 
Brown, Lieutenant, aid of, among Seminole- 489 
Brown, Mrs. W. W.., gift of shell beads by. xxxvi 
Brown County, Illinois, mounds -.-.--...-. 39-41 
Browning, O. H., anuuls sale of Cherokee 
neutral land by Secretary Harlan ....- 349 


Buffalo Creek, North Carolina, mounds 
WEE SAE Se SAE OCS OS nC mOsm ato ae tacbcs 68 
Burial mounds of the northern sections 
of the United States, by Cyrus 
EPROMAG)=-o-eee sees sce e XXXViii-xlij, 3-119 
Burke, Edmund, commissioner to treat 
with) C@heroke@<s--<---c<+-0c5s-cseus 298, 305 
Burke County, North Carolina, mounds. -. 73 
557 
















































558 INDEX. 
Page. Page. 
Butler, P. M:, Cherokee agent ..........-.. 297 | Cherokee western outlet......---......... 246, 248 
commissioner to examine Cherokee Cherokee, the, probably mound builders . 60, 87-107 
RTE aces nemo ceance sar peEaosoace: 301 | Cherokee, the cessions of land by...-...... 130, 131 
Butler, Thomas, commissioner for Chero- | treaties with, -s- 2s 7ccer ane eee -- 183-378 
heentrentiyesceeee cee ews cme secon 174 known by North Carolina and Virginia 
Butler County, Ohio, archeology of ....--- 13 ROWS (eee ne sors encean secre nce 138, 139 
Cc. treaty relations of, with the United 
Caldwell County, North Carolina, mounds. GI-71 | 0 eengy 0 verutiitenirss 08 
GENRE Jobn C., treats w ith Cherokee-. a au mroposediromovallof a 209 
on Cherokee CLVIIZAtIONE 22s. ones oie 373, 3874 Pamornlatod 28, 954, 258, 
Campbell, David, surveyor of Cherokee 260, 292, 341 
boundary line Sed Rees Rea he | situation of, west of the Mississippi. .221, 292, 
Campbell, Duncan G., commissioner to ex- | 9093 
tinguish Indian title in Georgia-.-.. 233 progress in civilization of ......-...--- 240 
Campbell, William, surveyed line between adoption of constitution by........--.- 241, 295 
Virginia and Cherokee lands........ 156 material prosperity among .....-...--- 260 
Canon de Chelly, Arizona, explored ....... XXV protest against claims of Georgia...-.. 272 
Carr, Lucien, cited -.-....---.-.--.---. 84, 87, 88, 92 | proposition of, to become citizens ..... 274 
Carroll, William, commissioner for making memorials of, in Congress --.---- 275, 277, 289 
and executing Cherokee treaty --.--. 253, 283 unification of Eastern and Western.... 294 
report on the Cherokee...-....-------. 259 | charge United States with bad faith .. 296 
Cartersville, Georgia, mounds near. --..--. 96-104 financial difficulties of.........-.-..--- 318, 320 
Case, H. B., on Indian burial customs --.--- 47 | new treaty proposed in 1854 by....2... 320 
Cass, Lewis, holds Cherokee council at political excitement in 1860 among .-- 324 
Wapakoneta, Ohio ....--------.----- 221 the Southern Confederacy and-326, 332, 333, 342 
Catawba Indians, treaty of 1756 with...... 149 treaty of 1868concluded with Southern. — 346 
proposed remoyal of, to Cherokee coun- treaty of 1866 with loyal............-.. 347 
ELY seen ences one cone cere re en cece sen sce 317 | jucisdictionioiie: =sesses soe ame eee 369 
Catfish Lake ninole settlement ....477, 478,59 | Cherokee and Osage, difliculties be- 
Cattaraugus reservation, New York, lin- eC ie ee ee oe 242 
guistic investigations at....-.--..-.. xxxi | Cherokee and Tallegwi, relation of....-... 60 
Census, Cherokee, in 1825... 240 | Chester, E. W., instructed as to treaty with 
OSS Die sates tsretnysroictete siefesmus a= (afersteaye sree 289, 377 @herokeesecs ecec ee ee eee 263 
MTA menctcdcadscHaccosass mer setoes 351 | Chicamauga band, emigration of .-...---. 150, 151 
in North Carolina in 1849.....----...-. 313 | Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Cherokee, 
in North Carolina in 1869.-........-... 314 boundary between....-.------.------ 205 
Census, refugee Indians, in 1862........--. 331, 332 | Chillicothe, Ohio, mounds Leet, 46 
Chanter, Navajo ....-..--.--------------- 385-387 | Chisholm, John D., deputized by Cherokee 
Charleston, West Virginia, mounds near.51, 53,55 | HOtEGA bse ce ces cieee Seco eee 212 
Chattanooga, Tennessee, mounds near Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee, and Creek, 
Chelaque identical with Cherokee .-...--. boundary between ........ .-..-.--- 205 
Cherokee and Creek boundary disputes. - - 266 Clark, William, instructed to cud Cherokee 
Cherokee boundary of 1785, dissatisfaction hostilities cos 22 cess bece ees cee 221, 222 
Withkesse aero annonce te ese eae 160 Clarke, F. W., analyzed iron from mounds. - OL 
Cherokee census, in 1825 .-............--.- 240 Clarke County, Missouri, mounds. ....----- 43 
ba EB) < oe -oRepesnecserSscceose ose -289, 377 | Clay, Henry, sympathy with Cherokee ...- 28 
Thal UGLY cere sPorme Sacre occscesere=eecea0 351 resolution by, regarding title to Texas. 355 
Cherokee cessions to the United States, Clements, C. C., special agent on Cherokee 
area of 378 CO) OI Sem ee eee eae eninia 
Cherokee citizenship....---. 367 | Clifton, West Virginia, mounds. 
Cherokee Confederate regiment, desertion Cocke, John, commissioner to extinguish 
OBE onan cee cos RIDE a cicooceenosesiseo 329 Cherokee title..-..---.-. =2 241 
Cherokee constitution-°--.-.-22----..---. 374,375 | Coffee, John, objection to survey by-.----- 207, 2.8 
Cherokee country, boundaries of -..-. .205, 354, 365 appointed to assist in Cherokee re- 
Cherokee hostilities --.....-...-s-ne.----- 170, 173 OVA seers ea ae ramet oleate alata 200 
Cherokee lands, purchase of.......--.-.--- 210 appointed to report on line between 
removal of white settlers from ...--.-.- 322, 323 Cherokee and Georgia. ...---.------ - 270 
CesSion and sale Olen se aeee sees ee eae 348 | Columbia River, Cherokee contemplate re- 
appraisal of, west of 96° . 2 361 MOV Al CO) esas soma te eee 264 
Cherokee miipration=-2----esc~<-se-e-—-e8 186 | Confederacy, relation of Cherokee to 
Cherokee Nation, political murders in..--. 297, 303 Southerntssscoersne see eae etae ete 376 
Cherokee Nation of Indians, by C. C. Conner, Rebecca, mounds on farm of....... 74 
ROVCer.ca- cease ces Sects xlii-xliv, 121-378 | Cooley, Dennis N., commissioner to treat 
Cherukee population ..............----142, 377, 378 with Cherokee ....-- ppSonosassoctise 334, 341 





























INDEX. 559 
Page. Page. 
Copper in use among Indians......-. 93, 94, 100-106 "| Dsilyi‘Neyani, tradition of great interest 
Corwin, R. G., commissioner for Cherokee | in study of Indian myths-....-....... xlv 
boundary... .......0.2-------seccees 365 | RL ai! Beeoe) ioceee nc oc pececeee sora 387-417 
Courtois group of mounds.-.-......--..---- 15 origin of the name .................... 404 
Cow Creek Seminole settlement ....-...-.. 477, 478 | introduction of ceremonials by.-...--. 409-411 
Cowe, description of Cherokee counci! house return of, to the gods. --..----..-...... 417 
Sea ceee  aie nerpaeete ele eit wie ais init 87 (CAO ene perce bee Sobee DeaS ean Oe 420, 421, 465 
Cox, Jolin T., commissioner to appraise neu- visit of, to home of the snakes . - 446, 447 
NG Chee a oo es emcees 351 | home of the bears seen by..-- ~-447-449 
Crawford County, Wisconsin, mounds.14, 17, 18, 20 | visit to Lodge of Dew by.-- -- 450, 451 
Creek and Cherokee boundary disputes. --. 266 Dubuque County, Iowa, mounds .-..--. =. ol, 32 
Crockett, David, denounces policy toward Dunlap, R. G., speech on Cherokee affairs. 285 
Cherokee. ...... Se Sa re eee per 288 | Dunning, E. O.,on stone grave mound in 
Cumming, Alexander, treaty with Chero- valley of the Little Tennessee ...... 78,79 
EAD eereemene cides seen ae teeta ae acme as 144, 145 
Curry, Benjamin F., to appraise Cherokee rE. 
improvements .....---.---.--.-...--- 283 ; 
Gave Serciniakl work of os XXXi, XXxXVii | Eagle Point, Towa, mounds Crs: ee ee 32 
Cushing, Frank H., work of..... XXV-XXIX, XXxili- | Earlé, Elias, SEROMA) for iron ore tract 
— of Cherekee Nation BS =p a oae enone 199, 200 
Cutifachiqui, visit of De Soto to.....--.--- 135 | Hast Dubuque, Minois, mounds. ---...---- 34-38 
Cypress swamps, Florida...............--- 527-529 Fast Tennessee, explorations Ate e hrs re Xxil 
| Eaton, John H., appointed to negotiate 
D. treaty with Cherokee ..........-.-.. 275 
commissioner to settle Cherokee 
Davenport, Iowa, mounds near.........--- 24 | CT feee eee Pek ks ae 298 
Davenport Academy of Natural Sciences, | Effigy mounds, discussion of . = 
explorations by members of ......... 24 HMidon lowe, Mounds: ssser esas apseacecince 33, 34 
pipes found by members of. : 38 | Elk River Valley, West Virginia, mounds- 55 
Davidson, G. L., commissioner to extinguish | Ellicott, Andrew, survey of Cherokee 
: Cherokee title. sosesnstereesseessees 241 boundary by .......---seeseee--s-0-- 163-165 
Davie, William R., commissioner for Chero- Ellsworth, Henry L., commissioner to treat 
: kee treaty ...-- Fo aa ae 184 TER ChExG Geen ee 249 
Davis, E. H., and Squier on mounds...... 12, 13, 38, commissioner to report on country 
E vee gv Ns enia6 | assigned to the Indians of the West-. 251 
Davis, William M., report onstate of feeling | Emmert, John W., explorations of.xx, xxii, 74-77 
among Cherokee in Georgia ..... .-. 284 | 


Dearborn, Henry, treats with Cherokee. ..193, 195 

















Etowah, Georgia, mounds . --.. -xxii, 96-104, 106, 107 


Everett, Edward, denounces policy to- 
| Ward Clierokee:o- -.-2s2-se- nose oe 288 
| Ewing, Thomas, counsel for Cherokee.... 345 
Ex»venditures of the Bureau of Ethnology - hii 


De Bry on Indian burial customs -.....--. 29,39 | 
Delaware Indian gravesin Ashland County, 
OW Oi ea eee aan 47 
Delaware Indians, cession of land in In- 
(DPV Tits Race oe cer ocnassceasoccncoees 137 
join Cherokee . . = 356-358 
Des Moines River mounds -.-. Sepp ea oe 
De Soto, visit of, to Cherokee... maar 134 
visit of, to Cutifachiqui --. = 135 
Devil's'Garden,; Mlorida.:--..-..-....52.- 478 
Dobbs, Arthur, grant by...-.....--.------ 145 
Dorsey, J. O., linguistic work of ......... Xxxii 
Doublehead, Cherdkee chief, secret agrec- 
Ment Wath eesesn-ccosenaa- ence ee 191, 192, 193 
PRU AOL ate we a win ae aah ae ees Oe 192, 193 
Doublehead tract, controversy respecting. 192 
Drake, Samuel G., advocates Indian origin 
(bitin Gs eee oteceas Soe oOsere 84 
Drennan, John, authorized to pay Chero- 
(Reotclaimsresssec-n.-oeee ee eso ne 312 
Drew, Colonel of Cherokee Confederate 
ROMITEE HS ao see Reece cere eesceoenen 329 
Dsilyidje qagal, origin of myth of. -387-417 
ceremonies of ..........--- 418-444 
the great pictures of .. -444-451 
BACCN OES Oli eacteaaet sactens acc casas 451-455 








F. 
Florida, the Seminole Indians of, by Clay 





MacCauley-.-.-.-..-.---------x]viii-l, 469-531 
Florida mounds - ae 12 
Force, M. F., on distribution of Indians. .. 59 


Fort Defiance, North Carolina, mounds 





G. 


Gallagher, W. D., commissioner for Chero- 
kee boundary 
Garcilasso de la Vega on Indian mounds... 
Gatschet, A. S., Klamath studies of ....... xxxii 
George Connet mound, Athens County, 





Ohio; déscription of -----..-ce---255- 47,48 
Georgia, mound exploration in-......... xxi, xxii 
protests of, against Hopewell treaty. .- 155 
United States agree to extinguish In- 
dian title in ....... = 30 as 233 
action by, regarding Cherokee .....-.- 234, 236 


560 INDEX. 








Page 
Georgia, view of, as to Indian title ... ..-- 241 
Supreme Court decision in Cherokee 
Nation vs. Georgia..-.....-.-------. 262 
Supreme Court decisicn in Worcester 
VS: GGOL@id. cence eweres sacs -n-e--i—s 264 | 
refusal of, to submit to decision of Su- | 
preme Court respecting Cherokee... 266 
hostility of, to Van Buren’s compro- 
mise in Cherokee affairs. ..----.----- 290 
Georgia and United States, measures of, 
to remove Indians...-....-.--.------- 260 
Gilbert, G. K., visit of, to Zuili...--....--- 540 
Glasscock, Thomas, and John King pro- 
test against treaty of 1785.-..-..---- 155 
“Government” or ‘Ross’ party of 
G@heroke@te ion. .eseanie= = eee 293, 298, 299 
Graham, George, commissioner to treat 
with Gherokee=.-...---.--=---- 197, 198, 205 
Grant County, Wisconsin, mounds...----- 19 


Grave Creek, West Virginia, mounds .--- 51, 136 
Grey, Alexander, commissioner to extin- 


















. Page. 
Hubley, Edward B., commis oner to settle 
Cherokee claims ..-...-..-----.--.- 5 298 
Hunt, Charles, mounds on farm of.....--..- 71 
Hunter, A. R.S., commissioner to appraise 
Cherokee property....-..---.--.-.<- 258 
Hurlbut, George, Peruvian relics from... xxxvi 
Hurons, burial ceremonies of.......-...--- 110-119 
ie 
| Teazbaleeta, Ji'G., aid of: 22.222. 25- 5-6 ees XXXV 
Illinois see Reaacn aan 10, 11 
Illinois or Upper Masoneiial burial 
mound distriet = =< -cn(.-ssjccs eee one 24-44 
Un diana mounds =22- 27 ee = eee en ee 10 
Indian anthropology, publications project- 
GU ese secosepscane decenscascoe XXxi 
Indians, removal of, west of the Mississippi 
RLY Ol seems eee ene See en eee 214 
Indian Territory, linguistic studies in. -..- Xxxi 
Tntercourseact of 1796..........-...---.-- 173 
LOWS) MOUS te aee ee cies aaa ae eee ae 10, 24 
Towaville, Iowa, mounds -......--------.-- 33,34 
Troquois burial cnstoms.---....-..-.---.-. 21 
Iroquois investigations by Mrs. E. A. 
SSUUID I See peter e aeim she Sera eae cle nf RR ERR RIEL 
J. 
ack, awick rant tosses see see ae tees 145 


| Jackson, Andrew, protests against Cherokee 


boundary of 1816) <25-- econ since 206 
commissioner for Cherokee treaty. ...209, 212, 
215, 216 

refuses to approve Cherokee treaty of 


TSG 4 se ae bare a aicloatiete sorciataie eatatcterets 
advice'to Cherokee. ---.-.22--2.2-.---- 
on decision in Worcester vs. Georgia... 
urges Cherokee to remove....... cea 
method of, tor ieee Cherokee 

MOMO Val ese ace) eae atays tate eee relate atelate 297 
Jefferson, Thomas, on removal of Chero- 

UNC er ate one ariranceieceacnoodaht 202, 203 
Jones, C. C., on Indian pipes..-....--..--.- 93 
Jones, Evan, alleged founder of Pin Society. 325 

appropriation for...--...--.-----.---.. 339 
Jones, John B., warned to leave Cherokee. - 324 
Jones, Joseph, on mound builders. .-...... 83 
Jones, R., commissioner to examine Chero- 

kee feuds)\ietss5csccentennecions eee cas 


Jones, W.D., mound on land of.... 


| Johnson, Robert, Indian census in South 


guish Cherokee title....-...--------- 241 
Guess, George, inventor of Cherokee al- 

MMOS egeemasecosceoscuocascosstees 230 

death of... 302 
Gulf mounds... 12 
Gwin, James W., commissioner to treat 

with GHOLOKOB se =n senate =i 288 

A. 
Hardin, Joseph, survey of Cherokee boun- | 

GG oy iven igeeoenopauacucseceeseuane 156 
Hardy and Scheetz on Missouri mounds .- 42 
Harlan, James, contracts for sale of Cher- 

okeemeutrall andes eee eee 340, 349 
Harney, W.S., commissioner to treat with 

ThNGN NS ScsooSe sedcebonsd oo soshose 208 341 | 
Harris, Thaddeus M., on moana builders. - 82 | 
avon! Sibi COL U-tseeme teint eisai tatare 82 | 
Hawkins, Benjamin, commissioner to treat 

with Cherokee. ---133, 184 

journal of 165-169 
Hay wood, John, on bastion of Cherokee... 89, 90 

on European implements among Cher- 

ORG oc ane naanSUSeeTeacELOrceousesecas 94 

on origin and habitat of Cherokee. ..-. 136 
Heart, Captain, on mound builders. ...-..-- 82 
Henderson, J. G., opening of Illinois 

AUOUNG SND Wate eet ee sleet 39 
Henderson, Richard, purchase of land from 

@herokeeibyses-ee oe eee eee 148 
Hencerson County, North Carolina, 

TTLOUNOS sees epee tee el ee 74 
Hendry, F. A., aid in Florida..-....-.- 492, 51), 528 
Henshaw, H. W.., linguistic researches of.. xxx 
Hofman wWisd ayn Ol ke One ice sens aa XXXi, XXXii 
Holmes, W. H., archeologic studies of ----- XXXV 
Holston Valley, Tennessee, mounds 73-77 
Hood, Robert N., aid acknowledged. 130 





Hopewell, proceedings at treaty of .152, 153, 155, 158 
Hoshkawn, dance of the. (See Yucca bac- 


eata.) 
Houston, Robert, surveyor of Cherokee 

line in Tennessee...--.-..-----.--.-- 227, 232 
Hoy, Philip, opening of mounds by..-.-.--. 14, 20 | 


Carolinasin Wil oibye asc. acetone 142 
Johnston, William, financial relations to 
Cherokee Indians .......--..--..--.- 315 
Joy, James F., contract for Cherokee neu- 
tralilandsiDiyjon-= sno poets aeienenclt 310, 350 
K. 
Kak-lo of Zunimythology.-..........-.. -..544, 547 


Kanawha Valley, explorationsin..xx, xxi, 51, 53, 57 
Kansa or Kaw, removal to Indian Ter- 


THOMA a 6 aoe ens naa soon Sod neeteino oo 360 
Keam’s Canon, Navajo dance at ...-. ..-.. 432, 442 
Kennard, Thomas V., commissioner to ap- 

priisodn diam lands! esecmomeeeecnate 363 




































































INDEX. 561 
Page. Page. 
Kennedy, John, commissioner to treat MacLean, J. P., on Ohio mounds.......... 13 
with Cherokee’... <2. os. ecses=--== 288 on mound builders ................-..- 83 
Kent, M. B., on Indian burial customs .... 20 | McMinn, Joseph, commissioner for Chero- 
Kentucky mounds ........--.----.-.-.- 10,11 LEGIT I jas ec cc Codec EE CCR Ce ree 212, 216 
Keowee Old Town on map by Bowen...-..141, 142 on Cherokee migration............ 218, 223-225, 
Key Weat Billy. ...-...-.......0. 5 -484, 485 appointed Cherokee agent...... 236 
Kickapoo stone graves...... 30 | Madison, Bishop, on mound builders. 82, 83 
Kilpatrick, John Clark, surveyor of Cher- Madison, Wisconsin, mounds near... = 16 
okee boundary line ...........---.-- 165,168 | Madisonville, Ohio, mounds near.......... 49 
King, John, and Thomas Glasscock pro- Mallery, Garrick, study of sign language 
test against treaty of 1785........-.- 155 Wy eeee sree e ee see eee xxxil 
Kinna-Zinde ruin examined...........-- xxiv, xxv | Martin, Joseph, commissioner to treat with 
Kiva, the Zui religious house ....544, 547, 549, 552 Cherokep).o he cee oseeaceen csasthed = 133 
Klamath studies of A. S. Gatschet ......... xxxii | Mason, John, jr.,reporton Cherokee affairs 286 
Knox, Henry, on violation of treaty of Mason, R. B., commissioner to examine 
Hopewell - -160, 161 Cherokee feuds 301 
treaty with Cherokee executed by 171 | Matthews, Washington, work of. XXX 
Kok-k6, the Zuni order of the... 540-548 the mountain chant, by -..xliv--xlvyiii, 379-467 
admission of women into the -540-555 | Maxwell, C- A., aid acknowledged.....-.. 130 
involuntary initiation into the......-.. 547-553 | Medicine practices of North American In- 
voluntary initiation into the ...... -+--003-555 dians discussed ........--..-..--- xlvi, xlvii 
Koonti, preparation of .......-...--.--..-- 513-516 | Meigs, Return J., commissioner of survey 
Seminole tradition of origin of..-....-.. 519 of Cherokee boundary...-..-..- 181-183, 187, 
Kretschmar, H. R., commissioner to ap- 188, 189, 190, 191, 192, 194, 196, 200, 
praise confiscated property of Chero- 201, 204, 210, 211, 218-231, 232, 374 
REGS comes Caan slap wae ote ecm ncenee 3a relations of, to the Cherokee .........-231, 232 
CREO BS ESE me pocsse rE osboenennceotaa 236 
L. Me-le the Seminole .. 429, 490 
Lafitan on Indian burial customs ......... 29 | Metz, C. L., on burial mounds...-.-.--.-. 49 
Lane, H. P., mounds on farm of....-.-.... 26 | Merriwether, David, commissioner for 
Lapham, I. A., on Wisconsin mounds ..xxi,14, 17, Cherokee treaty ..-.-..----- 209, 212, 216, 235 
21,22 | Merriwether, James, commissioner to ex- 
Lawson on shell ornaments .--...-.--«. Ls 92 tinguish Indian title in Georgia... ..233, 235 
Lea, John M., aid acknowledged.......... 130 | Miami River Seminole settlement... pai 478 
Lederer, John, on copper among Cherokee. 91 | Middle Mississippi mounds-...-..- c il 
Lee County, Virginia, mounds ........-... 87 | Middleton, James D., explorations = -Xx, xxi, 14 
Le Moyne de Morgues on burial mounds -. 39 | Middleton, Jeff, mound opened by.------- 20 
Lenoir, R. T., burial pit on farm of ......-. 68-71 | Mindeleff, Cosmos, work of.---.-.----. EXV, XXXVi 
Liddell, James, commissioner to treat with Mindeleff, Victor, work of. ...... xxiv, XXy, XXxyi 
Uharolkea teen en dees 288 | Mississippi mounds, Upper ...--.......-- -10, 24-44 
Linguistic Bibliography, preparationof .. xxxv Middle and Lower -..-..----.+------+-- il 
Little Tennessee Valley mounds Mississippi Valley, explorations in........ xxi 
Louisiana mounds.......... 31 | Missouri, mound explorations in.......... xxi 
Loyely’s purchase 245 MNOUNA SN << oo oie enon mmc menenens 10, 11, 41-44 
Lower Mississippi mounds = 11 | Missouria removed to Indian Territory... 364 
Lowry, John, commissionerto urge Chero- Mitchell, D. P., surveys Cherokee bound- 
ikeetoxemoye (222 0<-2a50cee sn - ea 262 ATY -------=---n---n cnnene scccccenance 365 
Lubbock, John, advocates Indian origin of Mobawk burial customs . 21 
Tere Trt (Ce SRS ee 2 Ae a ce g4 | Moki villages, visit to ................ xxiii, xxiv 
Lumpkin, Wiison, surveyor of Cherokee Monroe, James, on relations of Cherokee 
Nittntne eee cen oes te he oe eee 207 Chul GC Gear Susess sssspeenssoc - 238, 239 
commissioner to execute Cherokee Moore, Alfred, commissioner to treat with 
crea bymeacpees see seeench esac teen 263 Cherokee ...-....-.----..----+----+ - 176 
Moseley, H.N., visit of, to Zufli.......... 5 540 
M. Mound builders, conclusions as to who were 
MacCauley, Clay, on Seminole Indians of the.-.------.-.---- xli, xlii, 9, 58, 79, 80, 86, 97 
Wlorida..-.ccesssct seneee-Xlviii-l, 469-531 conclusions as to period of.. -- xlib 
McCulloch, Benjamin, Confederate com- probably Cherokee......- + 87-107 
mander in Cherokee country...-- -.. 326 | Mound explorations.. --ax-xaii 
McCulloch, J. H., advocates Indian origin Mounds, burial ....-.-.---- sereneneseeeeee 3-119 
OPIMMONRAR GEES oe ee ae gq | Mountain chant, a Navajo ceremony, by 


McGuire, J. D., donation of pottery by... xxxvi 
M'Intosh, Lachlane, agent of Tennessee 

with Cherokee -...-....scccccececes 179 

commissioner to treat with Cherokee... 133 


Washington Matthews. -xliv—xlviii, 379-467 
Mouzon s map, 1771, Cherokee towns on... 143: 
Mullay, J. C.,census of Cherokee in North 

Carolina in 1849 by......... weuconcce 313 


562 INDEX. 


Page. 
Munsee join Cherokee......-. we eeecee ++ = - 300-308 
Munson, Spencer, aid acknowledged...... 130 
Mythology, brief account of Zuli..-...... 539-545 
N. 
Naples, Illinois, mounds ........---.------ 39 
Navajo ceremony, the mountain chant, by 
Washington Matthews..-....--- xliv-xlviii, 
379-167 
Nayajo linguistics and customs, work of 
Washington Matthews upon ......-.. XXX 
Navajo rites, seasons for...--...-.. mececee 386 
Nelson, T. F., mounds on farm of .-.-.-.-- 61-66, 90 
New Albin, Iowa, mounds near.--.......- 3 26 
Newark, Ohio, mounds .....------.-.-.-e06 46 
New Echota, Cherokee council at........- 280 


adoption of Cherokee constitution at-. 374 
Neutral land, proposed cession of, by Chero- 





kee sccccns Sossens aso sneccerdcoseacs 319, 320 
New Mexico, exploraticns in - --Xxiii, xxiv 
New Work mounds).-2-~ (022 \.-2---e=se5 10 


Nez Pereé removed to Indian Territory -.. 364 
Norris, P.W., investigations of..xx, xxi, 17, 18, 26, 

27, 32, 35, 39, 40, 52, 55 
North Carolina, mound explorations in.... xxii 











MOTO he esa eae oscemc osama ssocce 10, 61-75 
protests against Hopewell treaty...... 155 
Cherokee refuse to cede lands in...... 260 
0. 
Ohio mound district-.- 45-60 
Ohio mounds 10, 12, 13, 45-60 
Old Settler Cherokee party ......--...---- 293, 375 
payments to 299 
propose toremove to Mexico........-. 302 
Claimsvof, Betuled sc ccjcosi-- aeeiee one aeee 307 


O-poth-le-yo-ho-lo loyal tothe United States 330, 331 
Osage half breed reserves, purchase of ..-. 252 


Osage and Cherokee, treaty between.-.... c 222 
difficulties between...-...---.--.. 242 
Osage removed to Indian Territory . . 359 





Er. 


Palmer, Edward, explorations of .....---- XX, xxii 
Panamint Indians, vocabulary of,obtained xxx 
Parker, E. §.,commissioner to treat with 

UNG WEE ecg roscoocepoo gsoreonscecsa5 341 
Parris, Albion K., commissioner to treat 

with Cherokee 
Pawnee removed to Indian Territory... 


Peru, Iowa, mounds near.....-.--..--2-.. 31 
Peruvian relics presented by George Hurl- 

Lt pores LeccooncemeosaconcecosAcSess xxxvi 
Phillips, Wm. A., Cherokee commissioner 

to appraise neutral lands ........... 351 


Pickens, Andrew, commissioner to treat 
with Cherokee as to boundary. .133, 165, 186 





Pike, Albert, as to Pin Society.........-.- 325 
Cherokee commissioner for Confeder- 

ate States....... qsenacenenes 326, 327, 328, 329 

Pike County, Illinois, mounds 39 

Pike County, Missouri, mounds.-.. 43 


Pilling, J. C., preparation of Linguistic 
Bibliography by -.-..- 




















Page. 
Pin Society of Cherokee ........--...----- 325 
Pipes, soapstone ..-........-.- -- 93,94 
Ponca removed to Indian Territory....... 364 
Potherie on Iroquois burial customs...-... 21 
Pottawattamie mounds .......-.---.-----. 34 
Powelly Joa, LepOLw OL eee ena ae eee xv-liii 
copper plate from Illinois mound ob- 
tained by 105 
Powhatan, Virginia, site bought with cop- 
per... 94 
Price, Hiram, aid acknowledged - co 130 
Publications: -.---< 222. se-..se-< --XYViii, xix 
Pueblo models, work on.-. . Xxxvi 
Pueblo of Zuii, location of.....--......--. 539 
Putnam, F. W., on Ohio mounds.......... 49-51 
Q. 
Qagali, or Navajo chanter--....-.... cae -- 385, 387 
Qastcéélei. See Yaybichy, dance of the. 
Quatrefages on appearance of Indians in 
the valley of the Missouri-.......... 109 
R. 
Racine, Wisconsin, mounds near 14 
Ralls County, Missouri, mounds 42 





Read, M. O.,on mounds near Chattanooga. 77,78 
Rector, William, surveyed Cherokee line 







intAkansasseecrae teense eset seer 222 
Religious life of the Zuni child, by Mrs. 
Tilly E. Stevenson -..........- 1-liii, 533-555 
Ridge, John, with Cherokee delegation at 
Washington 
mMuUrd eriGheesmssse-e-ceaeeae 
compensation to heirs of. 
“Ridge” party of Cherokee ..-.... 293 
Ridge treaty rejected by Cherokee 280 
Ripon, Wisconsin, mounds near .--..-..-. 16 
Robertson, James, commissioner of Cher- 
ORGBTYORGY loemmn)o'e stele seme et ae 194 


Rogan, J. P., explorations of..xx-xxi, xxii, 61,71, 
72, 97, 98, 104 
Rogers, James, deputized by Cherokee to 


TCAG eee en eee eee Srstetet= nate 212 
Ross, Andrew, proposition for Cherokee 
BI CRUY ~ wee nie msinincieninin einem e = aia ae 274, 275 
and others, preliminary treaty con- 
Cludediwith= acne. - ners scam eee eae ene 275 


Ross, John, applies fur injunction against 





Georcials fo cenmase ees saecenien noone ec Oopone 
alleged attempt to bribe 273 
protests against the removal of Chero- 

k@G iieenesieee ceeitennee(caeee eae 278, 275 
opposition to Andrew Ross's proposi- 

BON seca sieele sete ane ae eee ee 275 


heads Cherokee delegation to Wash- 
ington in 1885... 2.2.5... .--22< --20-- 218, 219 


arrestof....... SO Se CRT HOS sassce assess 281 
opposition to treaty. ....-..--.---..--- 282 
refusal of, to acquiesce in treaty ...-.. 283 
proposes new Cherokee treaty .--..-- Pee yl 
heads delegation to Washington in 

hd eee eee ee nee 300 


advises sale of Fort Gibson in town lots. 322 
opposes survey and allotment of Chero- 
kee domain..........-.---- S'ssissceiee 324 






























INDEX. 5638 
Page. Page. 
Ross, John, relations of, toSouthern Confed- Sprague, Peleg, denounces policy toward 
YAR Viren ceeiee teen eages=> 4 32. =9= 5-0-8 Be Gheng kee tease ate tm alan wae ee seams A PT 
not recognized as principal chief of Squier ard Davis on mounds..........12, 38, 45, 48 
Cherokee .-...--.....---------------343, 344 | Squier, E. G., on Indian antiquities.-..-.. 10 
GON oe ORES 5 -oe Se SoeSeoeee 347 | Steele, John, commissioner to treat with 
“Ross” or ‘‘ Government” party of Cher- SH ELOK EBs enn ose ealaceseaee 176 
Reus tee einen, aanncescente nae 293 | Stevens, E. L., aid acknowledged......... 130 
Robertson, Charles, deed to, on the Wa- Stevenson, James, explorations of. xxiii, xxiv, 542 
TERT aoe Ad cee eee nC 147 | Stevenson, Mrs. Tilly E., on the religions 
Robertson, General, agent of Tennessee life of the Zuni child ...-.....- Liiii, 533-555 
with Cherokee ... 179 | Stokes, Montfort, commissioner to treat 
Royce, C. C., work of ..- XXXV with Cherokee. ----==.-----..--=<=- . 249 
on the Cherokee Nation of Indians. -xlii-xliv, commissioner to report on country as- 
121-378 signed to Indians of the West...-.... 251 
Rutherford, Griffith, march against Cher- Storrs, Henry R., denounces policy toward 
Dk GAseetodieee cece ase ase Fen alee Cherokee! on ~~ 2. cwemmnen en cannns 288 
Strum, G. P., aid acknowledged........... 130 
S. Stuart, James, agent of Tennessee to treat 
Sac and Fox, burial customs of .......-.--- 20, 21 with Cherokee -------.--.--.---- -  =179 
Saline or salt plains, treaty provisions re- Sullivan County, Tennessee, mounds...... 75-77 
BAtMnpY .Sosctesqose=soes coset cazesc2 250,300 | Sun dance, song of the rising -.....-...... 465 
Sand pictures, ceremonial .. ..422, 423, 427, 428, 429 | Supreme Court decision, in Cherokee Na- 
Scheetz and Hardy on Missouri mounds... 42 tion vs. Georgia ......-.....22-.22--- 262 
Schermerho-n, John F., commissioner to in Worcester vs. Georgia .--...-..- -- 264 
treat with Cherokee.....---- 249, 253, 257, 282 Sweatland, S. H., census of Cherokee in 
commissioner to report on country as- North Carolina in 1869 by....------. 314 
signed to Indians of the West. ..---- 251 T 
appointed to treat with Ridge Cherokee : 
TA CY VAG) Rose pesaee ce neseesaceice 278,279 | Tallegwi and Cherokee, relation of........ 60 
Schooleraft, H. R., on Indian burial customs 21 | Tallegwi as mound builders .....--...... = 84 
advocates Indian origin of mounds .--. 84 | Tally-Hogan burial ground..........-...- 5 Seti 
on identity of the Allegan with the Talootiske, Cherokee, grant of ..-....-.-.. 193 
@herake@eces==s-eeeeee eee ase skeen 137 | Tatnall, E. F., appointed to assist in Chero- 
on sacrificial sticks 453 Kee mcemovals=— eseecse ce oa seileca ae te 260 
School-house mound.............---.---.-- 48,49 | Taylor, Nathaniel G., commissioner to treat 
Scott, Winfield, ordered to command troops with Cherokee 's2-.~.-----s--cocenncs 340, 352 
in Cherokee country.-.------------- 291 | Tennessee, comm’ssioners from, to treaty 
Sells, Elijah, commissioner to treat with council of Cherokee ..........-....-. 179 
CHeROKGR een ee eeeeeriae ee eee 334, 341 endeavor of, to treat with Cherokee ... 201 
Seminole Indians of Florida, by Clay Mac- on validity of Cherokee reservations. .- 232 
LSE Ege enor Ss oie Sse xlviii-], 469-531 | Tennessee Company, purchase of Cherokee 
Segnoyah, or George Guess, death of ...... 302 dang pb yeeen aces ences sem ae masscgessses 162 
Seven Cities of Cibola, attempt to locate... xxvii | Tennessee mounds. -.-..--..... ee cneeconceg tise 
SADA ON UVET Ole ectewe acess tee oce ess a56 385, 387 | Tennessee River, mounds near.......-.... 77 
Shawnee, stone graves of...-...--.....--.. 30 | Thing, L. H., explorations of ...-....-.--. XX, Xxi 
expelled by Cherokee and Chickasaw... 144 | Thomas, Cyrus, work of.......-.-. XX-X4ii, xxxvii 
Olt CUCYOKCG cnn nceseraceeaeanenee ae 356-358 paper by, on burial mounds of the 
WHS: ails GIG Olio cave cctesacs sn sesece « XXIV northern section of the United States, 
Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, mounds... 19 XXxXvVili-s hii, 3-119 
Short, John T., on mound builders 83 | Thomas, Nora, translation of description of 
Smith, B. H., mounds on farm of..-.-......- Fal burial ceremonies of the Hurons by-..110-119 
Smith, Daniel, commissioner fortreaty with Thomas, William H., agent for Cherokee. . 315 
(SHErOKGS -ccc-s.0-wncwcaesersce 183, 187,190 | Thompson, R. F., aid acknowledged ...... 130 
Smith, Mrs. E. A., work on Iroquois dia- Tompkins, H., census of Cherokee in 1867 
(GY 8 A sgeene se noose conse ase Xxix, ¥xxii lv isanccccocomeece Ess aenoneecssesionas 351 
Smith, Thomas E., commissioner to ap- Topping, Enoch H., commissioner to ap- 
praise Indian lands......-..-..--...- 363 praise Indian lands.................. 363 
South Carolina, endeavors of, to extin- Treaties and purchases of 1777....---.-... 149 
gnish Cherokee title .... ...........204,205 | Treaties between the State of Franklin and 
Southern Confederacy and the Cherokee... 326- the Chérokee=----- sense qeccnssos: 151, 152 
333, 342 | Treaties of March 22, 1816. ----197, 198 
Spainhour, J. M., opening of North Caro- Treity and purchase of 1721 . oon 144 
ENB MOUNOR DY a -neee~ cicen = saan 61,73 | Treaty and purchase of 1755 ......-.-..-. : 145 
Spencer, J. W., on Indian burial customs. 21 | Treaty and purchase of 1768 -....-------. ° 146 


564 


Treaty and purchase of 177 


























Treaty and purchase of 1772 . 1i8 
Treaty and purchase of 1773 - 148 
Treacy and purchase of 1783 151 
Treaty between Confederate States and 
Cierokcemeeesessoe-eascmeceesnacecte 328 
Treaty Cherokee propose to remove to 
WGP eas sseecr Sen oRU SOS ESOSSE . 302 
Treaty of Hopewell, proceedings at...-.. = 152 
ACE 70 iE SaasscociebsoueScen ea scmnoccic : 145 
Treaty of 1760... : 5 
Treaty of 1761... . 146 
Treatyror litouesseececcenie= e 148 
Treaty of November 28, 1785. -183, 158 
Treaty of July 2, 1791........ . 158 
Treaty of February 17, 1792 . 169 
Treaty of June 26, 1794..... 5 171 
Treaty of October 2, 1798... e 174 
Treaty of October 24 1804.. =<. 183 
Treaty of October 25, 1805 ° 189 
Treaty of October 27, 1805.. a 190 
Treaty of January 7, 1806 .-............... 193 
Treaty of September 11, 1807.......... acco 194 
Treaty of September 14, 1816.......-....08 209 
Treaty of Julyi8, 1817 .-22-~<--nonenoncce a5 212 
Treaty of February 27, 1819............... 219 
Treaty of May 6, 1828 ............ Serre seek) 
Treaty of February 14, 1833 . 249 
Treaty of December 29, 1835 . . 253 
Treaty of 1835, adjudication of c 305 
Treaty of 1835 declared void by Cherokee.. 294 
Treaty of March 1, 1836, supplementary .. 257 
Treaty of August 6, 1846 ............22.000 298 
Dreaty of July 19) 1866... cece oscommerce 334 
Treaty of April 27, 1868 .... 310 
“Treaty” or ‘‘ Ridge” party of Cherokee... 293, 
DAyMeULS LOlec-ceesiscewere = Sacheoscas 299 
POUR O Leis nateisn senate te laste eae 301, 302 
Troup, Governor, on relations of Cherokee 
TONGS OUP A anemones cscs mec eicicnen ate 237 
Trumbull, J. H., aid of..... XXXV 
Turner, H.L., visit of, to Zui............ 542 
Tuscarora, neighbors of the Cherokee .... 91 
Tyler, John M., promises settlement of dif- 
ficulties with Cherokee .......-..-.. 296 
Tylor, E. B., visit of, to Zuni 540 
U. 
Upper Mississippi mounds............... 10, 24-44 
Vv. 
Van Buren, Martin, offers a compromise in 
@henokeelatiains 2 -sce see -)s- seis 290 
Vashon, George, n gotiates a treaty with 
Cheroke@ te secmce == nisa eee eee 252 
Vernon County, Wisconsin, mounds...... 14, 20 
Ware iniayMOnROS sees ceee ecient ee aie 10, 87 
Voorhees, D. W., counsel for Cherokee.... 345 
Wie 
Waddell, Hugh, negotiates treaty of 1756 
with Cherokee and Catawba eeecse.. 145 





INDEX. 
Pago. Pagan, 
116 


Wafford’s setiloment. ....s.0...0...-.0-- 5.186, SF 
Wales, Samuel A., instructed by Governor 
Forsyth to establish Cherokee bound- 
any lineVecss=secces. efetetetsratetelelsietetstaisiere 269 






Walnut Caiion, ruins in xxiv 
Walton, George, commissioner to treat 
withCherokeo......-..--....-0+.0--174, 176 
Wapello County, Iowa, mounds........... 83 
Washington, George, in relation to Cher- 
Ca a RG ea Se acti 161, 173 
Washo Indians, linguistic rescarches re- 
pectin pie wenneeeeerisee seen eaeeeae X35 
Watie, Stand, a Confederate leader in tha 
Clvilinyaite ccs cacoeee erasers 298, 325, 328, 333 
confiscation act against adherents of.. 343 
Waukesha, Wisconsin, mounds sear.-.... 17 
Webster, Daniel, denounces policy toward 
Cherokee........... nie aoa eee 





Welch, Edward, moundson farm of. 
Wellborn, Johnson, Georgia commissioner 
in treating with Cherokee........ see 236 
West Virginia, mound cxplorations in ....xx, xxi 
mounds ins coceecon as ae ==ais= sees 10, 51-60 
Whitner, Joseph, surveyor of Cherokee 
boundary linges=-2se--s canescens 165, 168 
Wilkerson, William N., commissioner to 
appraise Indian lands........... ... 363 
Wilkes County, North Caiolina,mounds.. 71,72 
Wilkinson, James, commissioner for Cher- 


Okegitrenty secs. sees ase aceasta eee 184 
Winchester, James, survey of Cherokee 
boundary line byes. see ace = nk eer 154 


commissioner for Cherokee boundary.. 165 
Wisconsin, moundsin....-...- 10, 14-23 
Wise, Henry A., denounce. policy toward 
Cherokee 288, 289 











a 341 
Wool, John £., in command of troops i 
@herokce :Natione=- =. 0... - oneasckew 5 283 
report on Cherokee afiuiis............ . 286 
Teligved Saccasescses epee seen ae 289 
Worcester vs. Georgiz, Supreme Court dee 
CISION Teese eaeeiemenee RostoS ecw 264 
ay 
Yarrow, H. C., researches of, respecting 
mortuary customs of North Awer- 

DGRI NCGS Semele tela =sin'eiseieleleslewasiae XXXvii 
Yaybichy, dance of the. ............2.2..-- 435, 436 
Yellow Creek : ettlement -.....-....-..... 183 
Yucca baccata dance........---..---.- 386, 439, 44h 


Yucea blades in Zui ceremonial. .550, 551, 553, 555 


Z. 
Zuni, researches among tho ..........-.xxv-xxig 
folk lore of the..--............-.XXxXili, XXXIV 


religious life of children among the, by 


Mrs. Tilly E. Stevenson .......l-liii, 533-555 


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Oa 








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